The Dream World
by DisneyLover16
Summary: Both in comas, Austin and Ally end up in a special dream world with no idea of how to get out. On top of that, they don't remember anything about themselves, but slowly regain their memories through each other and eventually uncover why they ended up in the world in the first place. Will they be able to escape from their comas or will they remain in the dream world forever?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! This is a new story I have, and I was going to wait a little while longer to publish it, but I really wanted to get this out there. It's going to be different than from what I've usually written, so I'll see how this turns out. If you've read a few of my other stories, then you might know of the poll that I put up and this is what I've decided to write, plus it's combined with _Remember_ so, I still included some of that idea in here. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

**_Ally_**

Opening my eyes, I see only pitch black darkness. I see nothing, hear nothing, and feel nothing. At first, I think I'm asleep, trapped in a boring dream waiting to wake up from it. But I know I'm not dreaming; I'm wide awake. Sitting up, I don't have the slightest idea of where I am. Where the heck am I?

In the distance, a faint white ball of light appears and slowly comes in my direction over my head. I simply watch it move; not knowing what to do. As the light creeps closer, it gets brighter, and I make out a figure lying on the ground a few feet away from me.

There's a boy that is bruised in several places, and has stains of blood on his face and all over his clothes. A cut is marked on his arm, with a small scratch on his forehead. He has beach blonde hair and appears to be very tall. This guy looks to be about eighteen years old. His clothes would be stylish if they weren't torn up. He had a white V-neck shirt, a black leather jacket with ripped up skinny jeans, and a pair of black low cut converse shoes. I also notice a silver guitar pick attached to a chain around his neck, and something about it seemed vaguely familiar to me, but I just can't put my finger on it. Generally, the boy lying in front of me is actually kind of cute. My heart tugs at me and my mind says that I should know who he is, but I don't. I feel like I do, but I honestly don't have a clue.

Gently, I lay my fingers on his neck to check his pulse to see if he's alive. Luckily, he is. I wouldn't exactly know what to do with a dead body. I'm tempted to actually wake him up to help me figure out where we are, but I decide to leave him at peace for now.

Looking around, I still see nothing except for the light above us that has gradually gotten brighter. I'm able to make out more detail of the boy and see a few injuries on myself as well.

Just on my arms, there are blood stains and some cuts. I touch my face and feel some dried blood on my forehead. Moving my hand towards my head, I notice a small bump, and I discover that I probably hit my head on something. My clothes are torn up as well. The blue skinny jeans I have on now have jagged edges along the ends. I only have one shoe flat on and my green crop top is coming apart too.

This is scaring me though. It's not the fact that I'm covered in dried blood, scratches, cuts, and bruises with ripped up clothes. It's not the fact that I'm surrounded by total darkness. It's not the fact that there's some ball of white light above me. It's not the fact that there is some guy in front of me physically damaged as much as I am. It's not the fact that I have no idea where I am and don't know what to do. It's the fact that I have absolutely no idea who I am, and that I can't remember anything about my life.

I try to remember something maybe about this place, the light above me, or even the boy himself. Maybe he might know who I am, and then I can go from there. Maybe I can find out what happened to the two of us, where we are, and how we can get home. Well, there's another problem; I don't know where or what home is. My mind is blank, no memories of doing anything at all. I can't even remember what I look like. I do know for sure that I have curly brown hair with blonde highlights. Other than that, the rest is a total mystery. There are so many questions to be asked, and many answers to be found.

I figure that I will need the boy to help me out, or rather, the both of us. We're going to need each other in order to…survive? Is that the right word? Survive? I can't come up with the right word to fit our current situation, so that's the best I got.

I realize that I shouldn't waste any more time and should wake the blonde guy up. He's had enough sleep for now. Plus, it's not like I have anything better to do. But, before I can even touch his shoulders to shake them, his eyes flutter open. He sees me with his hazel eyes and we just stare at each other face to face, eye to eye.

For some weird, but good reason, I know that there is something about him. There's something that I don't remember. There's something I need, want, and feel from him. But, I don't know what it is. I really hope this amnesia wears off soon so that I can figure all this out.

At least, I know one thing though. The boy I'm staring down on the ground at is someone I know I have met before, and he is somehow special to me. I just don't know how yet.

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**I apologize for how short the chapter is, but it's more like an introduction. There's going to be another introduction part to this, so that'll be coming up soon. Tell me what you think! Good? Bad? Suggestions?**

**Reviews are appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2

**This is the second part of the introduction; it's Austin's part. That is all. Enjoy!**

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_**Austin**_

The very first thing I see when I wake up is a girl. A really pretty girl to be more specific. Her eyes are of a deep, creamy chocolate color that I can get lost in. The strands of her brown, highlighted hair form in curls down her face. Glancing down at her lips captures some of my attention due to its soft, colored look. She overall, has the beauty as amazing as an angel from worlds above. One thing though; the girl has dried blood on her forehead and several other injuries. It's not like it really matters though. The girl's look of pureness is enough for me to almost drool over her. Although, I'm not in the mood for a relationship for some reason. I don't know why; I'm just not.

For a moment, I stare into her eyes and I feel she stares into mine. My conscience tells me I've met this girl before, and I know her, but I don't remember who she is.

Who is this girl? Why can't I remember? Wait a second…I can't remember. I can't remember anything! What happened to the both of us? Ugh, where am I anyway. Maybe she knows.

I sit up silently, still looking at the girl. She asks me, "Hey, are you okay?"

"Um, yeah, I think so," I answer. Touching my head due to being light-headed, I feel what seems like a scratch on my forehead. Am I injured too? Okay, this is weird and scary. It's weird scary. Where have I heard that before? What's going on? "Do you know where we are?"

"I have no idea," she says. "I was hoping you knew."

"Oh, okay then. Well, we're going to need some help. It's not like magic's going to fix us. In the meantime, I should introduce myself. I'm…" Searching my brain, I attempt at finding the mere memory of just my name. How can this be possible? How can I not remember my own name? Do I really have amnesia?

Even though I trail off, the girl decides to ask me a question. "You don't know who you are either?" I shake my head in response; a bit confused of what she means. "Well, that's great."

It's probably a stupid question, and I know it, but I ask anyway. "What is?"

"This!" She suddenly shouts. The girl creates hand gestures to indicate us and the area around it, total darkness. Also noticing the tiny ball of light above us, I spot it gradually grow and become brighter. "The fact that we have no idea who we are, where we are, and how to get out of here!" So, the girl apparently lost her memory too. And well, she's right; it is great…

Now what? Do we sit and wait for help? Is there even anyone around to help us? There's nothing to see except the light.

Trying to come up with a plan, I suggest, "Look, maybe we can figure out something about ourselves by seeing what we have on us."

The brunette sighs. "Okay. It's not like we could do anything else anyway."

My hands immediately go to my pockets, but I find nothing. The girl checks hers too, but nothing. Although, I notice something glisten on her chest; a necklace. "Hey, you have a necklace on. You can see if you recognize anything on it." Since it was still kind of dark, I'm not able to make out anything until she pulls it off.

Realizing that she does have a necklace on, she touches them, and removes it, holding it in her hand. I lean in closer to get a better angle of it, when my hand brushes against hers.

"A and a," she says obviously. The necklace consists of two silver 'A's with a treble clef as the '&' sign. It shines from the reflection of the light. "I wonder what it stands for. Is anything ringing a bell for you? 'Cause it's not for me."

"I don't have a clue. But…"

"But, what?"

"It seems familiar. I've seen that somewhere before."

"Yeah, I think I have too. I also think your guitar pick chain is something I've seen too." Looking down, I realize the silver pick touching the bare skin of my neck and part of my chest. Taking it off, I push myself closer to the girl so that the both of us could get a closer look at it.

On the front, I see an ordinary eighth note and an engraving of 'A & A'. Once again, the '&' is a treble clef. Flipping it to the back, there's a longer engraving on it. I decide to read it out loud.

"There's no way I can make it without you." Those few words rang in my mind and I repeat them over and over. An image starts to form, but I lose it. Dang it.

I'm going to assume that the 'A & A' part is us and our names must begin with 'A's. I mean, it could stand for something else, but that seems the most logical guess. Now, what are our names?

Before I could try to answer my own question though, the white lights comes down, begin split into two little balls. We watch it transform from two balls into the shape of two people. The two figures appear standing in front of us, but we can't see their faces. All that you could make out of them was someone short and someone else tall. They both wear identical pure white robes. Slowly, at the same time, the two figures lift their hoods up revealing themselves. The first is a young Latina girl with black, curly hair. The other, is a tall, friendly looking redheaded guy.

The redhead says, "Austin and Ally,"

"Welcome to the dream world," the Latina girl completes.

That should answer my question. But, my name is Austin, and not Ally, right?

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**Another short chapter, but once again, it is **_**only **_**the introduction. This is going to get better though, so if it seems a little slow, don't worry, it'll pick up soon. **

**I want to know what you think. Reviews are appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for not updating in a long time, I've just been super busy and such. Go on and read then! :)**

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_**Ally**_

"Who are you guys?" I ask the two.

"Neither of you remember us?" the tall guy says. The blonde next to me and I shake our heads.

"Then, everything is going as planned," the other girl says.

"What do you mean by," the blonde, or Austin I guess I should say, starts to use air quotes. "'Is going as planned'?"

"Let us introduce ourselves first," the redhead voices us. Austin and I simply nod our heads. "Okay, so we're dream ghosts."

The Latina girl adds, "Yes, and like I said, welcome to the dream world. You two should at least know your names now."

"Um, yeah, I guess we do." Austin speaks. "So, I'm Austin."

"And, I'm Ally," I tell obviously.

"That's right," the girl says. "Alright, let's get down to business. Here's the deal."

"Both of you are here for a reason. What that reason is, we don't know," says the guy.

The girl points out, "All we do is snap our fingers and do magic stuff. Basically, we're your…what's the word I'm looking for?"

"Fairy godparents," speaks the tall redhead. "Anyway though, you two will restore your memories with some of our help. But the both of you will have to do most of it on your own."

Again adding on, "Don't worry too much about it though. Most of it comes back naturally. Some of it though, you'll find a challenge to gain back."

"Exactly, and for future reference, call me Dez. Austin, Dez is your best friend in the real world," He tells Austin.

Austin nods at him and says, "Cool." I saw signs of delight on his face.

"Awesome. And Ally, call me Trish. Trish is your best friend in the real world." I nod at her and suddenly images of my best friend flood in my head. Trish, the girl who couldn't hold down a job and my best friend since kindergarten. The same probably happened to Austin, explaining his happiness.

"Oh my gosh, I remember Trish." I was so happy, unable to down the sudden signs of delight.

"Wow, you two are fast at this. Usually, people don't remember until after a while. I'm impressed," Dez tells us.

"I know right? These two are good. Anyhow, that should be it then," Trish says.

"You two ready for this?" asks Dez.

"Ready for what?" Austin and I ask at the same time.

"To enter a whole new world," answers Trish.

Austin and I glance at each other and I catch myself look into his hazel eyes. We turn back to the dream ghosts and nod our heads reluctantly.

"Oh, I almost forgot one more thing," Dez says. "When you two get there, live your life as if you're not in the dream world. Just pretend you're in the real world for now."

"Yeah, of course there'll be _some_ things that'll be different. Y-you'll see."

Before either me or Austin were able to respond, Trish and Dez held hands and in unison they chant, "By the power of dreams, we bring these two back to the first of many memories, amazing adventures, and drastic disasters, back to where it all started."

Trish and Dez snap their fingers with their unoccupied hands and all of a sudden there's a white flash. Images of what appear to be my childhood and by Austin, it seems his early life memories are coming back too.

I see myself with my parents from when I was little. My dad, his name is Lester Dawson who's the owner of the music shop Sonic Boom. My mom, her name is Penny Dawson who studies gorillas in Africa and is an author for her research. Again, I see Trish, but it was when we were in kindergarten up to high school. A particular image appealed to me. I was singing in front of my class, playing the piano. The image flew by before I could capture a quick sound of it. But I realized when seeing that image that it was then and there that I wanted to perform and be a singer, a songwriter. It's my dream. Next, I saw myself get gradually get older as things went on. There was Elliot, my old camp buddy from Camp Craft-A-Monga. My audition for M.U.N.Y., the top music school in the country. I noticed that I completely bombed the audition, and ruined my chances of getting in, which apparently also caused me an infection of stage fright. Something that seemed impossible to cure. Me failing disappointed me, but I knew that I had tried to move on from that. A middle school appears as I see myself graduate from the 8th grade and accepting a diploma from the principal. Then, a high school. It seems to go by quick-the memories. Not much has seemed to happen to me there that I know of for now. I remember all the things that happened there, but it didn't seem too important to me at all.

An even brighter flash than the previous comes and slightly blinds my eyes for a second, but before I knew it, I was behind a music shop filled with numerous amounts of instruments. Sonic Boom.

I look around in all directions, absorbing everything about, well, everything. My early life memories were a lot to take in already, and now just this this store brings back even more.

Then something else hits me. Today's date. Or at least, what it is in this particular moment. Scrambling for something with a calendar on it, I spot my phone on the counter and immediately go onto the calendar app. It was August 2nd, 2011. Simply staring at the date, I think to how long ago the ghost must have taken us back. Then, my phone screen goes black and I notice my appearance from my reflection. I no longer had highlights, just a plain old hairstyle. My hair was down and brown. It looked good, but it also meant that we've had to have traveled back a long time. I looked down at my clothes also noticing the change in style. Instead of a crop top and jeans, I had a yellow shirt, denim vest, two necklaces, a brown belt, flowery skirt, and tall brown boots.

Also on the counter, is a brown, leather-bound book with a letter 'A' on it. I pick it up, knowing that it's mine. Flipping through the pages, I see diary entries of things that go on in my everyday life, reminders of dates and times for certain events, and song lyrics. I smiled down at the scribbled words on the page. Songwriting I already knew, was one of the two things I had wanted in a career. The other thing was to be a performer, but unfortunately, I had stage fright. Apparently.

A voice came into my ears, interrupting my train of thoughts. "Guess who got a job at Cupcake City?" It was Trish, my friend who had gotten _another _job. She probably got fired from her previous job yesterday. Wait, I knew that Trish couldn't hold down a job, but I knew she was fired from her job yesterday? Okay, that means I have all my memories up until 'today', August 2nd, 2011.

"You want a cupcake Ally?" Trish asks me.

I'm about to accept, but then I spot a sign saying: NO EATING IN THE STORE. "Sorry Trish, but there's no eating in the store." I respond.

I turn back to my song book, and suddenly change my mind. "But I do like cupcakes, give me that." Grabbing the cupcake out of her hands, I lick the pink frosting.

"Oh, I forgot. They give us all the rejects. That cupcake I dropped on the floor." I stopped chewing on the bits of the dessert and immediately spit it out on a napkin. I turned back to talk to Trish, but she wasn't there anymore.

"Where'd she go?" I say to myself. Sighing, I pick up my song book again and flip through more of the pages.

"Where'd who go?" a different voice asks me.

"Ah!" I scream in shock and accidentally throw my song book behind me. Picking up my book, I find it's Austin. "Austin," I whined. "What was that for?"

"What was what for?" Austin questions casually.

"You gave me a heart attack," I whined again.

"Oh, sorry Ally." He scratches the back of his neck, and I remember it was one of his nervous habits. Suddenly, the blonde yells out, "Ooh, corn dogs!" Austin runs over to a plate of them on the other side of the counter. Where the heck did those come from?

"And drums too!" Austin says excitedly. He garbs two corn dogs and starts using them to play the instrument. "Hey Dez! How about this?"

As Austin starts a beat on the drums, a red-head appears with a video camera filming Austin. I recognize him as Dez from before. After a few seconds, I run to them to get Austin to stop playing the drums.

"Austin!" I shout. Both of the guys ignore me, and I yell his name again, but it's no use. I instead whistle into his ear, and this time, Austin stops playing.

"Hey Ally," Austin speaks innocently. "Like the beat?" Austin's about to start playing again, but I grab his hands in order to stop him from doing so. For some reason, I feel something weird, but I don't know what exactly it is.

"Austin, there's no eating in the store, and these drums are really dirty, and corn dogs are just plain unhealthy," I scold him.

"Sorry again, Ally."

"Besides, don't we have to try getting our memories back?"

"Yeah, but you remember what they said, don't you?"

Before I have a chance to answer, he continues. "To live our lives as if we're not in the dream world."

"True, but I think we should figure out why we're here. They said that we're here for a specific reason, and I think we need to figure that out."

"And we will. Can't we just have some fun first?"

I sigh again. Maybe he was right; I needed to have some fun. Leaving him with the drums, I decide to go upstairs with my song book. The door leading to the room said: KEEP OUT: EMPLOYEES ONLY. But remembering that I did work at Sonic Boom, I enter. The room was kind of messy with papers scattered everywhere, and file cabinets were open, but there's a nice looking, brown piano by the wall.

I sit down on the piano bench and open up my book. Spotting a few lyrics and notes, I start playing the keys on the piano.

_You don't know know know my name name name_

_I'm gonna make make make you do a double take. _

Clapping suddenly comes from the entrance and it makes me jump a little. Austin stands in the space of a previously closed door.

"Austin! How long have you been standing there?" I say to him.

"Not long. I just got bored. That's all. By the way, that was an awesome song." Austin excuses.

"Thanks. But, how could you get bored? Being in a music store is awesome!"

"Well, Dez had to leave, so I decided to come up here. Anyway though, since you're really good at the whole songwriting thing, do you remember anything about being a musician?"

"Yeah, I do. Turns out I am a musician. Except for one problem…"

"What's that?"

"Err…I have stage fright."

"Oh, how about I help you cure it? Maybe it'll trigger a memory. I have the perfect solution. Just stand up."

"Okay," I get off the piano bench and stand up. "Now what?"

"Alright, close your eyes and pretend you're in a peaceful meadow. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, everything is calm."

Hearing him rub his hands, I'm about to ask him what he's doing. It's just I'm too late. Austin uses his hands to tickle my stomach.

"Boo!" Austin scares me.

"Ah!" I scream for the second time today. "Austin, that's the cure for hiccups."

"Oh, you're right. Sorry. Again." Gee, how many times has he apologized to me?

"It's fine. But, wait a minute," I realized. "I remember you saying that once. You tried to help me one time!"

"Really? I did!" I don't answer to let him think, and the realization comes to his face. "Oh, yeah! I remember it now! Oh, um, sorry for making you drop your ice cream by the way."

I almost forgot about that part. "It's cool. At least it wasn't fruity mint swirl."

"Yeah, that's your favorite ice cream flavor, right?"

"Oh yeah, it is." Smiling, I imagine the taste of the flavor. It's the best ice cream flavor ever. "We're really on a roll with recovering our memories aren't we?"

"Yeah, I know, but that also reminds me of something. You know how I'm able to play the drums?"

"Yeah, you're actually pretty good. Are you…a musician too?"

"Well, yeah. Performing is my life. It's just that I can't write songs. But, you can. We could make the perfect team! We're the perfect match!"

Thinking about it for a second, I see now that with Austin's performance talents, and my songwriting skills, we'd be awesome together. We'd be Austin & Ally.

"Yeah, we're partners!" I hold out my hand for him to shake it, but instead he, holds out both of his arms for me to hug. Then, we switch. That didn't work out, so we just ignore it.

"Come on, let's write our first song. You can keep that song you were working on. The first song we write should be by both of us."

"I agree, but Austin," Not sure where I was going with this, another memory occurs to me. It's that Austin stole my song, became famous, and _then_ we become partners. You know, after writing our first song together. Gosh, this is confusing. "_Double Take_ is your song. You-you stole the song from me, got famous for it, we wrote our first song together, and then we became partners."

Again, the look of recognition comes onto his face. "Oh my gosh Ally! I am so sorry for stealing your song!"

"Relax, Austin," I calm my blonde friend down. "I forgave you, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. Both of our dads said we had a bazillion in one chance of making it in the music business and since we had the same dream, we teamed up."

"Exactly, and then we wrote that song. Which, I actually don't recall. Do you remember that?" The name of that song is on the tip of my tongue, but I can't think of it. A faint melody of it rings in my head, but I can't quite capture the full sound of it. Same with the lyrics.

"Uh, no. Maybe we should…write it?" Austin suggests.

"Yeah," I agree. "Let's write a song!"

"Let's do this."

I hold out my hand, which was probably a little straightforward, but he takes it anyway and we go downstairs to the grand piano.

* * *

**So, how was that? It's not too exciting yet, but what I have planned will be even better. I'm pretty sure you recognized quotes and moments from Rockers & Writers, Deejays & Demos, and Chapters & Choices. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**I _finally _got to update this story! :D I had the worst case of writer's block... -.- It was horrible, just horrible. But, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

_**Austin **_

_Come on and take a chance, _

_Make a stand _

_And break, break, break down the walls._

_Break down the wall._

I play a high key on the piano to end the song.

Sighing, I exclaim, "It only took all night, but we did it!"

"Woo!" Ally shouts. "The song is amazing! It's pretty good for our first song, isn't it?"

"It is; I can't wait to write more."

"Um, more?" questions Ally.

"Yeah, our career will be beyond awesome. We'll have the best musical partnership there is. We'll be off the charts. We'll be-"

"Austin!" Okay, maybe I went over the top with the whole music thing.

"Yeah?"

"You know that we're still in the dream world, right?"

"Oh, right. Whoops," I excuse myself. I totally forgot about the whole dream world thing. But, if we're actually music partners, we must have been a totally awesome team.

"Yeah, but let's take a break from the music thing for now. I'm so exhausted."

"Alright, where do you wanna go? I'm pretty sure this isn't the only place we have memories at, so let's explore."

"Okay, how about we check out the rest of the mall first?"

"That's cool. Let's go."

We head out of Sonic Boom, and I notice once we step out that we're in completely different outfits. I had a red, white, and dark blue plaid shirt on with the sleeves rolled up. In addition to that, I had a red tie and black vest. My other clothes were dark blue jeans and blue shoes.

"Whoa, what happened to our clothes?" I ask.

"Must be a dream world thing," Ally responds.

"Yeah, probably," I say. Ally's now wearing a colorful dress. The main design was feathers at the top and a zigzag type pattern on the 'skirt' part of it. Her outfit also consisted of a red vest and brown boots.

"Hey, look, there's Trish and Dez," Ally notices. They start walking towards us.

"Guess who got a job at Pirate Frank's Fish Fry?" Trish introduces. Her job would explain her outfit because Trish is dressed like a pirate. So is Dez. She sighs. "I hate this job."

I'm about to ask why, but not before being cut off by Dez.

"Guess who's Trish's new co-worker?"

It occurs to me that Trish and Dez had one of those frenemy relationships and that having the same job might not turn out well. I'm pretty sure they'll get fired eventually, considering Trish.

"It's horrible. Dez even fried his own shoes!" Ally and I gave Dez a funny look, and I glance at his shoes, seeing as they are fried.

"Yeah, you can fry anything there. Oh, and um, Austin you probably want to see this." Dez pulls out his phone, taps something on his screen and shows it to me and Austin.

On the screen, it's a mobile version of a blog by Miami H8ter Girl.

"Wait, a minute," I say. "I'm getting hate? How long has this been going on?"

"It's been online for about a week now," Trish answers.

"This is terrible. We should stop her from posting any bad stuff about you. I mean look at this." Ally starts to read some of the titles of several posts out loud. "Austin eats pants sundae, Austin biting his toenails, old school photo of Austin Moon."

"How do we stop this?" I question.

"I don't know, but let's get back to work Trish," Dez excuses. He takes back his phone.

"Alright, fine," Trish reluctantly says. The two walk off back to the restaurant to continue their jobs leaving me and Ally alone.

"Come on Ally, how about we go to Mini's?" I suggest. "Let's not let H8ter Girl ruin our fun."

"Sure," she accepts. The two of us walk to Mini's together. Ally and I talk about some of the good times we've had together, including how we saw Swamp Bride, decided to stay just friends, and something about a kangaroo loose in the mall.

When we get to Mini's we both order pizza and sit at one of the tables.

"Wow, these pizzas are so small," Ally says. "Oh, I get it now."

"What?" I ask her, taking a bite into my mini pizza.

"I just realized why they call this place _Mini's._" She points to the food, and then the sign.

"Oh," I reply. "Oh…" I suddenly realize. "That makes so much sense."

"Yeah, but it's kind of overpriced, don't you think?"

"I guess; it's still good pizza though."

"I suppose."

The rest of the time we tried to regain a few more memories. Some were really humorous, such as Ally's incident and unintentional destruction of the Helen set and her awkward dancing. Others seemed just plain out sweet, especially all those times we hugged after she would thank me for whatever I had said about her. I love how Ally would thank me for a lot of the things I've said to her; it's such a nice and warm feeling. Our hugs make it even better.

Then, out of nowhere in front of Pirate Frank's Fish Fry, I spot someone dressed up in an orange fish costume staring at us. I try to ignore it, but I can't. It's getting kind of creepy.

"Ally?" I ask her.

"Yeah, Austin?" Ally answers.

"Don't look now, but I think there's someone watching us."

My friend stiffens her position. "Really? Where are they? I'm not sure where to not look…"

"Behind you. They're in the orange fish costume."

"Oh, okay then. Should we leave then? We're both finished with our pizzas anyway."

"Yeah, but we should go get a closer look. We'll just say we're looking for Trish and Dez when we go inside of the restaurant."

"Alright, let's go.

Ally and I trash out our plates and head over to Pirate Frank's Fish Fry. I feel like an investigator, or a detective, or a – FOCUS AUSTIN. Focus.

Walking towards the door of the restaurant, the person in the fish costume casually waves to us, and we of course, wave back. Just the fish itself looks weird; I can't imagine what the actual person could be like.

"Hey Trish, Hey Dez," we greet our friends on our way in. The place is nearly empty to my surprise.

"Austin, H8ter girl is ruining your life!" Trish suddenly shouts.

"What?" I say shockingly. How could a hate blog possibly ruin my life?

"Here, take a look," Dez mentions.

Dez shows us a comment posted from the Miami Mall Owner and Ally decides to read it out loud. "'I never expected this out of someone like Austin Moon. I guess I was wrong though, because I now know that a person like him shouldn't be allowed to perform in the mall until he cleans up his act.'"

None of us say a word, until I realize I don't even know what I 'did' to upset the mall owner. "Hold on, what exactly did I do?"

"Uh, it says that apparently you dunked Nelson into the mall fountain," Trish speaks up.

"Wait, when did I…? – Oh, never mind; I remember now. Only that I was just helping him out; not dunking him!" Okay, I remember how this happened now. Nelson fell into the fountain, and all I did was help him get out of the water.

"Yeah, and apparently, the mall has a 'No Dunking Kids in the Fountain Policy'," Dez brings up. That's a really weird rule to have.

"We need to find out who H8ter Girl is so we can stop her," Ally says. "We can't let her ruin your career and life."

"Agreed," I say. "I can't have all this bad publicity." I think of who H8ter Girl could be, and then it hit me. Well, it didn't literally hit me; I was really struck with memory. H8ter Girl is the one in the fish costume.

"I know who it is," I suddenly say.

"Who is what?" Dez questions me.

"I know who H8ter Girl is."

"Who?" Ally and Trish ask.

"Lean in closer and I'll tell you," I whisper to them. My friends lean in like I said in order to hear the news. "It's the girl in that orange fish costume outside the restaurant." Of course, they all look. By now, she's staring at us. Then I yell, "Get her!"

"Don't worry!" Dez assures. "I got it." I wasn't exactly sure what he had in mind, but he grabbed a fishing pole out of nowhere and runs out the door. And being as curious as I am, I also run out the door. Ally and Trish follow along.

H8ter Girl keeps on running, but not very fast at that. Dez launches the string of the pole and actually hooks her, making the girl collapse onto the ground.

"Come on Dez! Reel her in!" Ally, Trish, and I say. Not one of us expected our redheaded friend to use a technique like that to ever catch someone.

"Aha! Gotcha!" shouts Dez in victory. "Let's see who it is." Hastily, he pulls off the head of the costume to reveal a teenage girl with blonde hair, but a crude frown.

"Tilly Thompson?!" exclaims Ally.

"You know her?!" Trish, Dez, and I ask her in shock. Tilly stays silent, not saying a word.

"Yeah, we went to kindergarten together," Ally explains. "You're H8ter Girl?"

"H8ter Girl?" Tilly questions. "You mean that beautiful girl that posts mean things on her blog of how much I hate Austin?" She pauses momentarily before continuing, and that's when we know for sure that Tilly is H8ter Girl. "Never heard of her." She tries to walk away, but Trish grabs her shoulder before she could get away from us.

"You do realize that you just admitted you're H8ter Girl, right?" Trish asks.

"Ugh!" Tilly screams. "I hate it when I admit things. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!" She then makes an extremely creepy face that just well…creeps me out.

"Look Tilly," I say. "You look like a nice, and not crazy girl, but why do you hate me?"

"Oh, I don't hate you," she says.

"Really? Thanks."

"I hate her!" Tilly shouts. Glaring at Ally, she plasters on a confused look on her face.

"Me?" questions Ally. "What did I do?"

"You mean, you don't remember what happened in kindergarten?" Ally shakes her head in response. "Well, we were both in Mrs. Carmichael's class…"

Tilly tells us the story of The Butterfly Song and The Ladybug Song. Her song sounded silly personally, but Ally's song seems pretty good for something written by a five-year old. One thing still bothers me though; why does Ally have stage fright now, if she didn't before? According to Tilly, Ally performs just fine than what happened to her when she was on the Helen show that one time. I think I'll just ask her later.

"And now, I will get my revenge on you by taking it out on Austin," H8ter Girl completes her story. "By ruining Austin's career, I'll ruin your career! And the best part is, there's nothing you can do stop me!"

Tilly then snapped her fingers, and then she disappeared.

_Poof_

She was gone just like that.


	5. Chapter 5

**I know it's been a long time, so this time, the author's note is at the bottom. You may now read. :)**

* * *

_**Ally**_

Whoa…what just happened? I mean, I'm not stupid. I am well aware we're in the dream world, but how could Tilly just disappear like that? Gee, next thing I know, pigs will be flying and Austin and I will be walking on sidewalks painted yellow.

"W-where'd she go?" I ask.

"I…I don't know," Austin responses.

"Hey Tri –" I turn around to my best friend to see if she wanted to say anything, but she was gone too. Then I saw her and Dez over at the cell phone accessory cart with someone actually really cute. Too bad there's no time for that right now.

Austin and I decide to head to the practice room in Sonic Boom to talk a little more. These types of things don't just magically happen in the real world. At least, I think so. Once again, a dream world thing.

Getting to the practice room, I sit down in one of the chairs and pick up my song book and start writing in it.

I notice Austin glance at me and then at my book. He tries to touch my book, but I swat his hands away.

"Never. Touch. My. Book."

He gives me an apologetic look, but tries to reach for it again. I do the same as before. Slightly ignoring Austin, I go back to my book.

'_Hm, I wonder where she could have gone.'_

'_I wonder too.' Another voice appears in my head, definitely not mine though._

Who is that? I didn't say, or rather think that. Don't tell me I'm hallucinating. I look around if anyone was behind me. The only other person in the room is Austin, who's twiddling with his thumbs.

'_Hello?'_

'_Yeah?'_

I wasn't sure what to say next. But I guess I should be…friendly in a way…?

'_Who is this?' I ask._

'_I thought you knew,' the voice said._

'_Uh, no.'_

'_Ally, I'm right next to you.'_

Wait, Austin? How is that even possible? I glance at him beside me, unsure if it's really him.

'_Austin? Are we really…?'_

"Communicating without even talking? Then, yes." Well, this guy is a lot smarter than I remember. Then again, I don't think I exactly remember everything at the moment.

Opening my mouth to talk, no words come out and I close my mouth. I'm trying to process all this. "Okay," I finally speak out loud. "If we can talk through minds, and considering the possibilities of what can happen, I'm going to assume that Tilly can…"

Austin cuts me off. "Teleport."

"Yeah, the thing is how we find and stop her."

"Except how?"

_Beep. Beep. _

My blonde friend's phone rings and I recognize it as one of his alerts for an app.

"Whoa!" He shouts surprisingly.

"What?"

"It's the trending number one video on MyTewb." So, it was his MyTewb app that alerted him.

"What's the video?" This better be good.

"It's you on the Helen Show. I can't believe it's still up top."

My face grows gradually to a bright red as the whole incident comes back to me. That experience was just horrible. I don't even want to talk about how I got my stage fright, much less about the Helen Show.

Apparently Austin somehow reads my thoughts. '_It's okay, Ally. It'll all blow over eventually.' _He looks at me with his kind and sincere eyes, making me feel better. But then, they grow wide.

"What's wrong?" I ask concerned.

"Uh, Ally? I can't see you anymore."

"What do you mean by," I use air quotes even though he probably won't see them. "can't see me anymore?!"

"I mean, y-you're invisible!"

"I'm what? Invisible? Is that even possib – wait a minute. If Tilly can teleport, and if Austin and I can 'mind talk', then I suppose…I could be invisible.

Whoa. Weird just jumped to a whole new level.

Holding up my hand, I know it has to be physically there. It's just not…visibly there. Even my clothes are invisible.

But being invisible is actually pretty cool. Walking across the room to the mirror with my song book, I don't happen to see myself, but my book on the other hand can be seen when I put it up. It's just floating there as if controlled by the strings of a skilled magician, or possessed by a ghost haunting the practice room of Sonic Boom.

Turning away from the mirror, I notice Austin attempt to walk towards me very slowly, his hands held out in front as if he's playing _Pin the Tail on the Donkey_. He's getting close; at least he's going in the right direction. "Ally? Where exactly are you?"

"Right here." I raise my hand to show my near location, but I forgot he wouldn't be able to see it. Instead, I use my songbook as the indicator.

"Oh, there you are." He walks over to me normally so close that we're face to face. Suddenly, I feel myself turn back to normal. I look down and there are my clothes, my hands, my feet, my legs, and my hair and so on and so forth.

"Hey, I'm back to normal!" I exclaim.

"I can see that," Austin says. Haha, that's funny. He said that he can _see _that. Yeah, I know, it's not that funny.

I decide that I really want to write all this down for future reference so that we don't forget. Well, it's not like we haven't forgotten much already. Note my sarcasm. Except, I want my lucky pencil this time. I wonder where it is. Then, it hit me. No, not literally. It must be downstairs. "I'll be right back. I'm going to go get my lucky pencil." I reach towards the door knob to open it, but Austin stops me from going.

"It's okay; I'll get your lucky pencil, Ally." Austin opens the door and then just instantly, starts to run down the stairs. But, the way he runs is different. He came back in an instant. It was like Austin had…super speed.

Super speed.

Right now, with Tilly's teleporting, my invisibility, and mind communicating with Austin, I'm sure super speed is a pretty logical explanation for what just happened. Interesting…

"Here's your lucky pencil Ally," Austin says only a matter of seconds after heading out the door.

"This isn't my lucky pencil," I note.

"Oh, oops. I grabbed the one with the orange eraser. I'll get the one with the red eraser. Be right back." Austin speeds out the door and is again, back in no time.

"Here you go." Handing it to me, I check to see if it's the right one. Sharp tip, blue, and red eraser – this is the one.

"Thanks." I take the pencil out of his hands and I scribble down everything that's happened. That's when I realize that there's a possibility that there could be some things that we don't really know hidden in my song book somewhere. Placing my pencil down in my book, I pause to think about everything that I truly remember.

'_What are you waiting for? Start flipping through the pages.' _

Austin glances from me to my book multiple times, awaiting me to start going through it.

'_Alright, I'm doing it, I'm doing it.' _

Deciding to start at the front of the book, I open up the front cover. On the first page, I see my name and a few music notes drawn by it. The second page has a quick diary entry of how I got my very first songbook. I keep going through pages, some full of random doodles of hearts and music notes, others full of scribbled, but descriptive entries along with some song lyrics. Further ahead into the book, nearly about a fourth into it, something falls out of it. Putting the book down on the table, I pick it up and look at it.

It's a class picture from when I was in kindergarten. Trish and I are obviously sitting right next to each other with huge smiles on our faces. Then, I spot Tilly in the photo. She's the only one not grinning among the class. But I remember the date that picture was taken. It was the day when I played and presented my first song for the spring play to the class. That song made me realize I wanted to become a songwriter, The Butterfly Song. And on top of that, I find in my songbook an entry about that day.

'_I'll read it out loud, Austin.'_

'_Okay.'_

I clear my throat before I start.

"_Dear Songbook, _

_I was thinking about that day in kindergarten when I wanted to be a songwriter. I remember that my first song was The Butterfly Song. Before I went to perform at the piano, Tilly went first. The song she performed wasn't exactly the best. It was the Ladybug Song. And, it was cute, but the lyrics were really out of place. What kind of ladybug eats pizza and rides bikes? It was kind of ridiculous in my opinion. But then again, we were kind of young, so I can't exactly blame her. After Tilly, I went up to the piano and began playing and singing my song. It was amazing. Back then, I didn't have stage fright, so that actually turned out well. I hope that one day I'll be able to eventually overcome it. I know that one day; I'll make that stand and…break down the walls._

_But anyway, everybody loved my song. But when I was done, Tilly went on a mini rampage in the classroom. First she said that her song was better than mine which of course, was wrong. Then she went over to the teacher's desk and slid everything off of it. Next, she went over to me and said that I will pay for what I 'did'. All I did was write a song and sing it though. Gee, what happened to the alleged 'freedom of speech'? I don't know what her problem is. At least there was some good out of that day. :D_

_Love, _

_Ally 3" _

"Wow," I say. "This girl has problems." Not to be mean or anything, but I can't help but find it to be true.

"No kidding," he replies back. His arms crossed, he continues, "But you know what I find funny?"

"What's that?" I turn my head to face my friend.

"That you said that one day you'll make a stand and break down the walls." Austin points his finger at where I wrote those words, and I didn't even realize that myself. "We just wrote that song."

"Huh, weird," I say. "How could I not notice that?"

"I don't know; but it is your songbook after all."

_Beep. Beep._

There goes Austin's phone again. I wonder what new viral video is spreading on MyTewb this time. Austin pulls out his phone and quickly taps the app once again. This time though his reaction is shocked, surprised, and in disbelief. Without a word, he shows me the video.

It's him: Austin. The video is footage of him in Sonic Boom apparently 'stealing a guitar'. I'm about to scold him at first, but then I remember that time when he only took the guitar in order to get it signed for me by Bruno Mars. The whole thing is a misunderstanding, and for a second I'm relieved of this.

But I also remember that the mall association is hunting after the mall thief. However, knowing who the mall thief is, he has not appeared anywhere as far as I've seen.

"We want Austin! We want Austin!" yell many voices. Sensing that they come from downstairs, I take a peek through the practice room door.

Outside of Sonic Boom, I can see from the clear doors that there's a mob of people obviously after Austin. It's evident that they probably won't go away, so I excuse myself to go down. "I'll be right back, Austin."

He nods, possibly having read my thoughts. I swiftly go down the store steps and open up the door.

"Where's Austin?!" demands a mall worker.

Everyone else yells out, "Yeah!"

Frozen standing, I'm not sure how to respond. On one hand, I could tell the truth and say that Austin's upstairs. On the other hand, I could choose to lie and help out my friend.

"Oh, uh – uh, Austin's…" I stop for a moment, wanting more to help out the blonde. "Austin's at the beach!"

A different mall employee comes up close to me and gives me a glare, examining my face. I keep it calm and cool, not wanting to make it seem like I'm really lying. "How do we know you're not lying to us?"

"I wouldn't lie," I lie, again. "I know my morals, and one of them is that lying is a bad thing." My facial expression continues to stay normal. I'm even surprised by how well I'm able to keep this up. If I was greedy, Austin would _so _owe me one.

"Okay, we believe you." The same employer slowly backs away from me, and everyone nods at each other. So, Austin is safe.

For now at least.

They all exit the store, and I put an extra lock on it just in case they come back and are tempted to break in. I'm probably just over reacting though.

Back up at the practice room, I find Austin clutching a baseball bat in his hands.

"What are you doing?" I ask. Okay, why do we have a baseball bat anyways? I don't play baseball, and neither do my parents…

"Protecting myself," he answers. "You know, that closet over there has a bunch of weapons."

"Weapons?" I walk over to the door and take a look inside.

There's an assortment of items that could be considered for dangerous use: baseball bats, golf clubs, and frying pans. But why are there swords and rifle guns in there?! What is this? Some zalien apocalypse? (1) I don't care if Dez says there will be one, one day; he cannot store his weapons in the practice room closet.

"Austin, you'll be fine," I take the bat out of his grip and randomly throw it into the closet; closing its door. "Besides, you have super speed, so if they come after you, just run."

"Huh, okay," he says. But he once again, gets out the bat. "But I'm keeping this for safety."

"Whatever, but I'm going to go back to writing down all this stuff now." Austin watches me as I write down everything that I pretty much know about the dream world at the moment: white flashes, amnesia, dream ghosts, and superpowers.

"You done?" The blonde asks me.

"Yeah, I'm finished." I finally put the book down; having put all the knowledge I have about the place on paper. "Alright, now we got to come up with a plan."

"Yeah, a plan…" Austin agrees, but unsurely. "What's the plan for?" And before I could speak up he says, "I'm about to facepalm myself, aren't I?"

"Well, we just have to come up with a plan to stop Tilly from doing all these bad things to you." I also jokingly add-on, "You may now face palm."

"Haha, well aren't you just funny?" He decides to face palm himself then. I chuckle at it, and him giving me that 'Really?' look.

"But now that we're on the same page," I think for a moment, knowing exactly what we have to do, but trying to put it into words. "I think I know how we can defeat Tilly." With superpowers, and considering how we managed to get Tilly to take off the blog last time, this plan just might be able to work.

"Alright, what do you got? I've always wanted to be a superhero." I see some excitement in Austin's eyes, suddenly remembering that he once said that one of his wishes as a kid was to be a superhero.

* * *

**(1) If you're a member of the Austin & Ally Wiki, and know what's _supposed _to happen the 7th of every month on the _Irrelevant Commenting Page_… I think you know what I'm referring to now… :D**

**To explain why I haven't updated in nearly 2 months, I was packed with homework from school, then I had to study for finals, and now I'm on vacation. I just wanted to get a chapter in because it's been so long. :) **

**And I have to ask, is there some specific term for the whole 'mind talking' superpower between people? I feel like there is, but I don't know what it's called...**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Austin**_

"_Wow, Dad," I said in awe. "I can't believe you saved all those people from the fire. Do you like have superpowers or something?"_

_Firefighters were still around the store, Moon's Mattress Kingdom, close to putting out the fire that started there. Paramedics were putting the injured in ambulances that would be taken to the hospital. Police officers were talking to witnesses to try to find out what started the disaster. _

"_No, son, no powers or anything like that," my dad said. "Just courage and a big heart." _

"_So, is that all you need to be a hero?" I asked._

"_Pretty much, yeah. Why do you ask?" Dad picked me up and looked at me, curiously. _

"_Because I want to a superhero like you, dad." For some reason, my dad chuckles at what I say. _

"_Austin, you're already a hero to your mom and I. You don't even need real superpowers to be a hero."_

"_But what if I want a power like…super speed?"_

"_C'mon kiddo, you can already run pretty fast."_

"_Really?" I never thought that I could run pretty fast. Someone was always there to beat me in a race._

"_Yeah, plus you have musical power."_

"_Musical power?" I mean, heroes don't use music to help people. _

"_Yup, every time you play your music for your mom and me, it makes us happy. That there, is the power of music. You are a hero."_

"_Wow, thanks Dad."_

_Even if my parents do say that I'm already a hero, I wish that I can be a hero just like my dad. One day I'll save someone from a fear like fire or something. My parents would be so proud of me._

* * *

"So Austin, you got the plan?" Ally asks me. We spent the past few hours working out a plan to get Tilly to stop what she's doing, and furthermore, accidentally admit to posting fake stuff about me just like last time.

"Yup, I got it," I say confidently. "Let's do this thing."

I open up the practice room door and head downstairs, out of Sonic Boom. Ally's going up to Sonic Boom's rooftop, waiting for me to give any signs of Tilly or the angry mob as well looking out for them to warn me. Looking around to make sure no one is near, I start to speed around the mall to simply see if Tilly isn't in any kind of disguise. I thought it to be unlikely that she would just be randomly somewhere around the mall in plain sight. But she has to be around here somewhere because you know; she's kind of stalking me…

Throughout the mall, I start remembering a bunch of the stores and restaurants that I pass like The Melody Diner, Cupcake City, and Champy's. Though, I can't exactly remember what happened at Champy's… It was probably just some trivia night challenge.

Ally also told me to look out for the mall association mob that might be hunting after me. So far, I haven't seen anyone that could be looking for me. For now.

And as I expect, I don't see Tilly anywhere. I then run to the beach and hide under the boardwalk just in case anyone was to spot me. With my telepathic abilities, I contact Ally.

'_Hey Ally, you there?'_

'_Yeah, I'm up at the rooftop,' she responds. 'Got anything?' _

'_No, I haven't seen much,' I answer. 'Just an ordinary day to me.'_

'_Alright, well I actually have something.'_

'_Really? What is it?'_

'_Well, I spotted the mob on the east side of the beach, heading west. And earlier, there was someone who was just walking and then disappeared out of nowhere.'_

'_That must be Tilly. Normal people don't do that. What was she wearing?'_

'_Well, when I saw her, I think I saw you run past, and then she looked in the direction that you went. Then, she teleported. She was by Cupcake City. Oh, and she was wearing clothes that were all black. It's just a black blouse, black jeans, black boots, black sunglasses, and even a black wig. And considering it's about ninety degrees out, she would be the only one wearing it.'_

That's typical Ally; always talking too much and over explaining things when I asked one question…

In the distance, I hear a bunch of footsteps heading in my direction. I'm really sure what it is, so I take a peek out of my hiding place.

I see a group of people with determined, but angry expressions. That's when I realize that…it must be the mob that's after me.

'_Thanks Ally, I'm coming back to Sonic Boom now. There's a, um…angry mob heading my way.'_

At first, I don't think Ally hears me, so I'm about to repeat myself, until she answers.

'_Okay, I see them now. Hurry back Austin. We wouldn't want Tilly to find you either.'_

With that, I speed under the boardwalk, hoping that the group won't see me. But I guess that didn't work.

"Hey! There he is!" yells out someone.

Shoot.

I quickly glance back at the mob to see them start running after me. I start to get a bit scared, but not at the fact that there's so many of them, but because they have pitch forks and torches.

Deciding to run normally in an attempt to make it look like I don't have any powers, it just makes them run faster. The distance between them and me lessens, and for some reason, I start running towards the sea shore. And it isn't before long that I decide to speed towards the water, and that I'm…

Running on water.

Whoa, awesome! This has to be the coolest thing I've ever done. But if only this could actually happen in the real world.

I create a greater distance between me and the mob as I go farther and farther when I become conscious of the fact of how far I'm away from the mall. Changing my direction, away from the water, I start going back to Sonic Boom. It doesn't take too long for me to get back; about a minute or less.

Upon getting back to Sonic Boom, I lock the front door, and put the extra lock on that was there. I do the same for the other door that was on the opposite side of the store. Climbing up the steps to the practice room, Ally comes out of the door that leads to the rooftop.

"Hey Ally, I –"

"No need to explain, Austin," she interrupts. "I saw what happened."

"You did?" The recent memory of speeding on water rings in my mind.

"Yeah, but don't worry about it. I came up with something." Ally walks into the practice room with her songbook in hand and opens it. I of course, follow her.

"Okay, what do you have this time?" I'm pretty sure back in the real world, Ally's the smart one. It must be from all those books she reads and the smart stuff subjects she takes.

"Alright, do you remember how last time we got rid of Tilly by her admitting that she posted fake stuff about you?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I think that there's a chance that it may work again, but we do have to_ change_ a few things."

* * *

"Are the flyers put up around the mall?" Ally questions me.

"Yup! Your 'concert' is in an hour." I use air quotes around the word "concert". The plan this time is for Ally to 'perform' her song from kindergarten. It's just like last time. Then when Ally can't handle being on stage anymore, she'll walk off the stage and turn invisible. I'll go up and just as I'm about to sing the song, Tilly will walk up on stage. What happens then and there, I don't know. I suppose I'll just wing it.

Dez and Trish are here with us to watch the whole thing. Plus, Tilly might throw a tantrum and attack us or something, so they'll be there to help us out. Hopefully, that doesn't happen.

The hour passes by slowly as Ally walks around invisible to see if people will be coming to the 'concert'. I sit backstage playing and Double Take, Break Down the Walls, A Billion Hits, Not a Love Song, and The Butterfly Song since I have nothing else to do. The memory of those other songs have seemed to come back naturally, but what inspired Ally and I to write them; I still can't remember. I doubt the mob will find me here.

Oh, wait… The mob.

Ally and I totally forgot about them! That means if they catch me, they'll come after me and Tilly will probably have another bad thing to post on her website.

Just then, Ally comes backstage to where I am and brings up the same thing. "Austin, we forgot about the mob!"

"I know! What do we do? How do we stop them?"

"I don't know, but I guess we'll just start early. I bet Tilly's already here anyway."

"Yeah, but are you ready for this? You have _really _bad stage fright."

She sighs. "I hope so. I know I'll freak out, but you know, hopefully not too much?" Without another word from either of us, Ally grabs her guitar and walks onstage. I slowly exit from the side with a red fedora on in order to watch.

"Uh, hey!" Ally greets nervously. The crowd claps for her appearance. I catch her grip the neck of the guitar tightly, obviously uncomfortable in her current position. "I'm, uh, Ally. And I'll be singing The…" Her voice fades away and she just sits there, not knowing what to do. That's not a good thing.

"Just sing your song already!" shouts an audience member. Everyone looks in the direction of the voice, and with no disguise, it's Tilly. Her face is angry and impatient. In her hands is a video camera, of course for revenge against Ally.

Ally stutters, "I – uh, um – um, um, um…"

I suddenly decide to take off my fedora, walk upstage with my own guitar and speak into the microphone, "Hey everyone, I'm Austin Moon, and I'm going to sing a song for you!" The crowd once again, claps.

"I guess we're going to wing it now, huh?" Ally whispers to me.

"Yeah, just go backstage and use your power so Tilly doesn't find you."

Ally nods at me and leaves the stage. I make myself comfortable in the chair. "Tonight, I'll be singing the best song ever written by a five year old."

"The Ladybug Song?!" Tilly abruptly asks.

"No, The Butterfly Song." I put on a smile and I'm about to strum the first note when H8ter Girl disturbs again.

"Wait! Ally has to sing her stupid song!" Tilly screams in frustration, not liking her current situation. Some people look creeped out by her, but for some reason, others have their heads turned behind them. Footsteps can be heard coming in the distance and…

"Hey! There he is!" Great, it's the mall association mob. They start walking toward me with their pitch forks and torches.

Fantastic.

"Whoa, whoa, wait!" I say. The group stops in their tracks, and listen to me. Why did they stop? I have no idea. "Can't I just sing the song?"

The mob members give each other glances, not even exactly sure of what to do. They mutter things I can't comprehend, but then still agree, "Let's get him!"

"Uh, oh," I say to myself. Leaving the guitar, and running backstage, I try to find Ally; who may or may not be there. "Ally? Are you here?"

She suddenly appears in front of me and grabs my hand. "Austin, we have to get out of here." Ally attempts to take us somewhere, and I assume it's Sonic Boom, but right then and there Tilly teleports in front of us.

"You!" she yells. "You have to sing your song! That's what the flyer said!"

"Yeah, that's what the _flyer _said," I retort. "Not us." Her face gets a bit red, and I smirk.

"You!" someone yells again. Except this time, it's not Tilly. An angry mom member grabs my collar and keeps a grip on me tightly. "You're not going anywhere this time, pop star!" I try escaping from his hold, but it's no use. Tilly grabs onto Ally, not letting her go anywhere either. Now what?

"Got any powers now, pretty boy?" the man teases me. I glare at him, but it only makes him laugh. "You think you'd be a hero by saving your little girlfriend from stage fright?"

His comment angers me, but I realize that he's partially right. "You know what, I was being a hero for Ally. And I still do have a power."

Ally, Tilly, and the man all say in surprise, "You do?"

"Yeah, I have the power of music."

The worker scoffs. "The power of music? Well ain't that just girly." He chuckles again.

Though, I somewhat ignore what he says and start to sing.

_I'm a little butterfly_

His grip tightens around my shirt's collar. "You really think that'll work?"

_Spread my colorful wings_

I see Ally give me a genuine smile as I sing the next few lyrics.

_Even though I'm small and frail_

For some weird reason, the mall worker's hold becomes weaker, and even he has a confused facial expression. I'm able to get away from him, and Ally does the same with Tilly. I then throw one hand up in the air.

_I can do most anything!_

H8ter Girl and the angry mob member stumble back a good ten feet away from Ally and me and end up falling as well.

"Hey, if Ally doesn't sing her stupid song," Tilly starts to threaten. Ally and I grab each other's hand again; hoping that this time neither one of the enemies would hurt us. "I'm going to keep posting fake videos of you stealing things online and more fake stuff about you on my H8ter Girl blog!"

Ally and I grin at each other. It's the same thing she said last time. "You hear that?" I say to the mall worker. "That's H8ter Girl and she just admitted that everything she posted about me is fake."

The mall worker's face is no longer full of anger, but of confusion and realization of what he's been doing.

"Ugh! I hate it when I admit things. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!" Tilly teleports again, to who knows where.

"Austin, I-I'm sorry," the mall employee apologizes.

"Don't worry about it," I easily forgive. "It was a misunderstanding." He nods and simply walks away.

"So, that whole power of music thing is pretty strong, huh?" Ally finally speaks up.

"Yeah, it is," I say.

"And thanks by the way." I look at Ally.

"Thanks for what?"

"For standing up for me again. You really are a hero, Austin."

I don't say anything, but instead, I smile to myself as Ally and I continue to walk back to Sonic Boom. Ally just called me a hero. My dad was right all along; all you needed to be a hero _is _courage and a big heart. But musical power adds onto that. I didn't need super speed. I always had the power of music; which is probably one of the strongest strengths to have.

Still hand in hand, Ally and I finally get to Sonic Boom, but when we open the door, there's another big and bright white flash. One that leads us to nowhere dark, but the Miami Beach around a bunch of filming equipment.

* * *

**Thanks for the help with that question by the way. I just forgot the name of the power. But when I read a couple of the reviews, I was like, "Ohh! That's what it's called!" :P**

**And if you're curious to around when the mini flashback in the beginning took place, Austin was pretty young; I'd say he would be around 7-8 years old.**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Ally**_

Okay, so one minute Austin and I are about to go into Sonic Boom, and the next we're on the beach with all this movie equipment. Well, a big flash was going to come out of nowhere sooner or later.

I just thought that it would be later.

"Alright people! Let's shoot this thing!" yells out a voice. It immediately rings to me that it's Dez talking and that he's the director. Partially because he's the one with the megaphone and he goes to sit down in a chair that says "DIRECTOR".

I remember this now. Dez has always dreamt of filming his own movie on the beach about a gigantic lobster, also known as the movie called _Claws: Dun, Dun, Dun._ Austin plays the main role of Troy the Lifeguard who saves the people by killing the cruel creature.

Austin's out in the middle of the whole thing holding an oar surrounded by cameras and people. He gives me a slightly confused look and I simply shrug. I stand in the background behind all the equipment because of my obvious stage fright.

"And action!" Dez shouts through his megaphone.

Watching off-screen, Austin says, "Get off my beach, Claws." He whacks the fake claw with the wooden oar and it breaks. It, of course was purpose. "I'm not afraid of you, Claws." All around my friend are opened up umbrellas put into the ground. Austin takes several glimpses around him, as if actually taking in his surroundings. It is a movie after all.

Finally, Austin spots an umbrella with a pointed tip, and can be considered as a weapon. He's about to lay his hand on it, but hesitates. Austin reaches again, but again, hesitates.

"Austin!" whispers Dez. "You're supposed to grab the umbrella!"

"I-I," Austin stutters nervously. "Sorry, Dez, but I can't do your movie." Immediately running off-set in super speed mode, I go after him to what probably is Sonic Boom's practice room.

And, obviously, I am correct. I know Austin well enough to know where he hangs out, where his house is, and every hope and dream that he has. That includes his dream of playing Times Square on New Year's Eve.

"Austin, what's the matter?" I ask him. "Why can't you do Dez's movie?"

"It's complicated," he responds. Austin glances at me and turns his face back to the piano in front of him.

"Come on Austin, you can talk to me. What's wrong? It was almost like you seemed afraid of the umbrella."

"What?!" My friend bursts out in a high pitched voice. He gets off the piano bench and stands up. "I am not afraid of umbrellas! Anyone who says any different is wrong!" Austin crosses his arms and holds his head up high.

"No way!" I exclaim. "You're afraid of umbrellas!"

The blonde sighs; putting his arms down to his sides. "Alright, you got me. I'm afraid of umbrellas." He starts to sort of wander around the room.

"Look Austin," I grab his wrist and turn him around to reveal his glum face. "You can tell me anything. What made you so afraid of them in the first place?"

We sit down on the chairs next to each other. Before saying anything, Austin sighs yet again. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Of course I can." I give him a sympathetic look.

"Alright," Austin gives in. "It all started in the fourth grade."

My friend explains to me the incident of him losing his pants on the beach. Austin tells of how the umbrella caught onto his belt loop and when he lost its grip, it took the pants with it, revealing his monster truck boxers.

It's an embarrassing and humiliating story; that's for sure. Personally though, it doesn't match to what how I gained my stage fright a few years back. Now, _that_ was humiliating. I still can't believe I ruined my one chance of getting into that school. But, enough of that; it's another story.

"So, that's why I'm afraid of umbrellas." Austin looks down at the floor; that glum expression still on him. "Go ahead, laugh. I know you think it's funny."

I have to admit; that story is kind of funny. An umbrella ripping away someone's pants in front of a whole class can be hilarious. But, Austin's my friend; I wouldn't laugh at him for one of his humiliations. I mean his humiliation. He could have more that I just don't know about yet and he just might tell me in the future but – I'll stop talking now.

"Austin, it's okay." Putting my hand on his again, Austin lifts his head up and looks at me in the eyes. For a moment, I don't say anything. I just mimic his motion; staring back into his eyes. Those bright, sparkling, kind, hazel eyes of his are just…

Oh, uh, did I say something? Just forget that part.

_Wait, who am I even talking to?_

"If it helps, I can tell you how I got my fear." As much as I don't necessarily like talking about the reason for my stage fright, if it'll help Austin, I'm willing to let him know. I would do anything for him.

"You're willing to tell me how you got your stage fright?" Austin questions. Tilting his head, I can suddenly see the curiosity in his eyes.

"Yeah, I don't want you to keep going through what I go through."

So, I explain to my friend my own embarrassing and humiliating incident. The memory is currently locked into my brain at the moment, so as I tell my story about the piano that wanted to eat me, I also visualize the incident as if it were happening right now. It all felt too real. Reminiscing about that time makes me feel embarrassed all over again, but at the same time, felt good to get out. It gives me encouragement to one day overcome my own fear.

Now, whether I already have overcome my stage fright in the real world still remains a mystery. Besides, how would I even face that fear? I would just have some huge breakdown like on _The Helen Show_. How could I ever go through something like that again?

Easy; I don't. Or at the very least, for now.

"So, that's why I have stage fright," I finish my story.

Austin gives me a type of apologetic look. It sort of warms my heart knowing that he really does care. "Wow, Ally. My fear is silly compared to yours."

"That's kind of why I told you the story." I suddenly feel like using my invisibility powers in front of my friend. It's just sometimes I get butterflies when being confronted with these situations.

"Like my fear is _way_ silly," Austin adds on. "I mean, I'm just afraid to be embarrassed again. My fear doesn't keep me from achieving my dreams, but yours does."

Only shyly grinning and nodding my head, I realize that he's right. Because of my stage fright, I'm not able to sing and perform like I used to. I can't do what Austin does. Well, I wasn't able to dance in the first place, but the singing part is what I mean.

"But, thanks for making me realizing how silly my fear is. I'm going to do Dez's movie and overcome that fear."

He kindly smiles at me and I say, "You're welcome." The both of us know that facing a fear can be terrifyingly scary, but it's not impossible.

I decide to encourage, "You're the Austin Moon; you can totally do this."

* * *

"I _cannot _totally do this!" Austin begins to panic, even though everything is set up the same way as before. He takes a few glances at the maze of umbrellas around the set.

"Yes, you can!" With force, I drag him through the mess of colorful umbrellas, and I feel his wrist shaking in my hand. Then, I face him and look at him straight in the eye. "Trust me, when I say this."

"Okay," he manages.

"Facing a fear isn't easy. I, myself, know that." The blonde licks his lips; I do the same.

"Yeah."

"But that doesn't mean it's impossible either."

Austin replies again, "Yeah."

"So you're going to go out there and pretend fight the fake claw for Dez."

"Alright, Ally. I am going to do this." I grin for more encouraging, making him smile back at me. See, I always knew Austin would be able to do this. Of course, it's not as hard as facing something more paralyzing as my fear. That might be my own mental terror talking though.

"Everybody run!" somebody abruptly screams out.

The people in the cast and crew, including Dez and Trish, run past us and off of the beach. All the equipment is left behind and no one bothers to look back. I hear a bunch of panic in all the shouting voices. Even a few curses escape from their mouths. Austin and I give each other confused looks to what chaos is currently going on.

But, then I see it. Slowly approaching the beach shore, we see a horrifying creature no one would expect to know of existing.

Its red and hard skin almost glistens against the bright sunlight. The sound it makes against the waves is rough. Its beady black eyes somehow get darker than before. Drops of salt water drip from the body, and with the scorching sun beating down on Miami, the creature is able to dry nearly instantly.

What is the creature exactly?

My eyes don't believe it at first, unable to process the sight. It's an actual gigantic lobster. It's a real life _Claws_.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Austin**_

I can't believe my eyes. Are they lying to me? Tricking me? Is this all just an illusion?

Ha, an _illusion. _I love it when I cleverly come up with song references. Ally isn't the only one that can be considered smart.

A gigantic life-size version of Claws slowly approaches the store. Ally and I stand side by side watching its legs slowly move right in our direction; making it seem like we are the targets.

The brunette's face is shocked with horror. Her mouth hangs open with disbelief. Those chocolate-brown eyes of hers have widened; not sure what happening is really happening.

Almost subconsciously, I communicate with her with mental telepathy.

'_Ally? I think we need to go.'_

'_Agreed,' she answers back._

Out loud, I say, "Let's go back to Sonic Boom first." Starting to quickly walk away, I notice Ally doesn't alongside me. She's glued to her place on the sand; her eyes locked to the vicious looking creature.

I wave a hand in front of her face. "Ally? We have to get out of here!" For some reason, it works to no avail. Thinking of a way to get her attention, I rub my chin with my thumb and index finger. Touching her book would work. Well, not right now, of course.

So, I decide to just pick her up bridal style and start running away in super speed mode from the beach.

"Austin, what are you doing?" Well, that grabbed her attention.

I answer, "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm carrying you!" Without looking back at the blue ocean, I run with Ally in my arms to Sonic Boom.

Sonic Boom is a second home to both me and Ally; or rather Team Austin in general. It was always the main hangout, and every once in a while it was the location of a performance. I'm here almost all the time. I practically live here.

Once we get inside the store, I immediately lock the doors to prevent any harm against Ally. And, me of course. Though of course, being the protective best friend, I'd put my life on the line for Ally. Hey, that's what friends are for, right?

"Thanks Austin," Ally finally says.

"No problem." I decide to bring up, "Hey, what happened you back there? You seemed kind of –"

She cuts me off. "Look, I don't want to talk about it." Her eyes are aimed at the ground. The topic evidently put her in an uncomfortable position in the spotlight. I would want to talk through this with my brunette best friend as it is the kind thing to do. But, when the "Giant Lobster Attack" card is handed to you, sometimes other plans need a rain check. What? Miami can't be the only city faced with a huge monster possibly on the verge of ultimate destruction. Right? Don't judge.

To be honest, it might actually be cool to go against another villain. It's like being a super hero again. I am _so _in on that action.

"Look, I think I need to defeat Claws, so I'll be right back." Giving her a hopeful smile, Ally's face has the word "worried" written all over. "Just stay here and you'll be fine."

I turn around and take a few steps towards the store entrance before my friend interjects. "Austin, you can't go off by yourself!" The heels of my shoes rotate back in the direction to face Ally.

"Why not?" Facing a monstrosity of a huge lobster can't be that bad. The worse it can do is tear out my insides with its claws.

Okay, that didn't come out right.

Ally counters, "Because you could get hurt!" Technically, she's wrong, and technically she's right.

One of the things on the back of my mind is possible injury. That would be as in possible injury in the dream world. On another note, I might just be living one weird dream. Maybe, if the lobster killed me, I would wake up from all the hallucinations and be brought back into the real world.

Thing is, should I even try getting back? Like, let's say the lobster does "kill me". My soul or whatever would be brought back into reality and I could go back to whatever life I was living. I start to deeply think, of what this whole place could all actually mean. Was it even real?

What if there is no real reason I'm here?

What if all of my memories are nonexistent?

What if Ally, my best friend, wasn't actually my best friend?

What if I didn't even know Ally?

What if all this is just a dream?

The theories boggled in my brain. My mind longed for answers. The longer I'm here, the more I hungered for the desire of wanting to know. No, _needing _to know. Curiosity was almost addicting. Knowledge was something that people longed for.

Something that was wanted.

Something that was needed.

To be honest, ever since I had arrived in Sonic Boom from the white flash who knows how long ago, I went with the flow. I went by what the dream ghosts said: _"When you two get there, live your life as if you're not in the dream world. Just pretend you're in the real world for now." _I had chosen to trust by what they said; not even sure if it was the right thing to do at the time. What else was I supposed to do? I couldn't just stand around like a lost idiot or something.

Eventually, the whole "Tilly" and "Angry Mob" situation took its course and Ally and I succeeded to defeat our obstacles. I had figured much that those obstacles were somehow part of the reason why we're here. Now, that's another story.

Why are we here?

Unfortunately, due to the amnesia, Ally and I can't remember a single detail about our current lives. It occurred to me that when first being transported to Sonic Boom that I felt younger. In fact, I think I looked younger. And, so did Ally. I know enough that this has to be some trip down memory lane; and everything that was happening was somehow important.

Somehow Tilly was important.

Somehow that angry mob was important.

Somehow Claws was important.

Most of all, aside from all those hurdles in the way, my friendship with Ally was important. The moment we locked eyes when I first woke up back in the darkness, I knew there was something about her. It wasn't just her gorgeousness that had deemed so special to me, it was something more.

Back there, I felt something. It felt like an electric spark. An electric spark that flowed through my body and still even now. There was this gut feeling inside my body; a feeling that I'm unable to describe. I don't even know if there are words to describe it. Let's just say that I'm feeling… Oh, I don't know; feelings! Yeah, that's what I'd call it.

"Austin!" A hand snapped right in front of my face. That hand, being owned by Ally. "You okay?" I immediately drifted away from my intensive thinking and floated back into reality. Or, the dream world which is like reality in our situation. You get what I mean.

"I'm fine." I partially lied; being nearly shaken up by my own breakthrough thoughts. I thought that one of those theories could be true, that maybe answers to some of the questions should be left unsaid, and that the spark I felt between me and Ally was not just a mere moment of shock and surprise in the darkness. "But anyway, look, I know that I might get hurt –"

"Might get hurt?!" Ally interrupts my speaking. "You're going against a giant lobster, Austin! I don't want you to get hurt." Her chocolate-brown eyes sparkled with concern and fear. And, as much as I think it's sweet that she cares about my safety, I'm pretty sure I have to do this. A voice in the back of my head is telling me that this is what I must do. Actually, it sounds similarly to Dez, but I think that I am just imagining it as his voice. Though, sometimes my mind is crazy, and since Dez can be too, those puzzle pieces could actually fit together.

"Ally, I appreciate that you care, but I'll be perfectly fine. We've faced an alligator back in the Everglades before, remember?" The memory of that part of summer suddenly comes rushing back to me. I remember having to go against the wild animal, with Dez, Trish, Ally, and I trying to figure out a plan to get away from the creature.

"I remember that, but this is different," she argued. "You're fighting an animal that is abnormally large for its size. You're fighting something that isn't supposed to exist!"

"I know that!" I snapped. Ally is taken aback from my harsh tone. Her facial expression turns surprised; having not seen me in a snappish mood much before. Just for the record, I have a slight temper. And, I absolutely hate it. I wish I could be more peaceful and calm. So, lowering my voice, I repeat, "I know that. But, I also know that I need to do this. I have to fight."

"Aren't you even scared?" Interesting, the question actually intrigued me. But, the answer is simple.

"Pft, no! Why would I be scared of some lobster?" I wave a hand off to show as if it's no big deal. "It's not like you'd be scared either, right? You just have stage fright."

"Well, I-I…" Her voice trails off. Her head sinks low and her brown locks hide her beautiful face.

Hold on, did I say beautiful? I meant pretty. No, I mean cute. It's not that Ally isn't all of those things, but it's just that I mean – you know what, never mind. Moving on…

"Wait," I realize. "Y-you're afraid of lobsters?" I slowly clicked those puzzle pieces together. Now it makes sense when I had to carry her from the beach. And, now it makes sense when she being overly protective.

Ally looks up at me to meet my face and bites her bottom lip. She doesn't say anything; apparently not sure of what to say or admit. She starts to fiddle with her thumbs; now extremely ill at ease with the topic. I stand in front of her observing her features once again. Those clearly beautiful features of her.

I'm tempted to ask the cause of this fear like she did with her stage fright, but decide to be sort of a gentlemen and don't. Instead, I say, "I promise that everything will be fine. There's no need to worry." To be honest, I'm not even sure if I mean even half of that.

"Promise is a big word," she points out. "How can you be so sure that it won't kill you or me?"

I take the word _kill_ slightly to the heart. There would be no way in my right mind that I would let Ally die. Well, assuming that we could die. Who knows what happens if you do? Not the point though; I would never let anything happen to my Ally.

Erm…ignore _my._

"I'm sure it won't hurt you because…" I pause; thinking carefully at how I should word the rest of the sentence. "Because I'm going to be there to protect you. You trust me, right?"

She immediately answers, "Of course I trust you!"

"Then you should let me go out there. I know I can do this."

The brunette takes a deep breath and sighs. "Okay Austin, but on one condition."

"What's that?"

"I get to fight the lobster with you."

The feeling of shock goes through my body. I was not expecting that. Considering that Ally wouldn't face her stage fright, I wasn't sure if she would face this fear of lobsters. A confident and courageous Ally is slowly pecking its way out of its hard shell.

"Alright, then let's do this," I accept her request. Suddenly, high-pitched screams came from outside in the mall, and I didn't need to look out the door to see what the commotion was about.

Why did I say that she could help fight? Not because she could aid me in defeating the creature, but because I somehow saw Ally becoming more fearless. And, I like that about her.

* * *

**This chapter seemed okay to me. It isn't that exciting, but hopefully the next couple will be. :D**

**I always forget to say that you can now follow me on Twitter. :P So, if you choose, you can follow me DLover16 I may or may not give out small spoilers… ;)**


	9. Chapter 9

**So, a couple days after posting the last chapter, I was looking through the info and apparently this fanfic got added into a community, which is **_**The Auslly Club.**_** I decided to go through the list of stories that were included and saw some of the best Auslly fanfics I've seen on the site. I guess it's a bit of an honor to see this one on there because I was not expecting that. :P So, thank you to whoever added it in there! :D **

**By the way, I DO NOT OWN **_**Red Lobster, **_**or Austin & Ally. If I did, I'd be writing scripts for the show, not fanfics.**

* * *

_**Ally**_

_My parents and I were headed to Red Lobster for a nice family dinner. I cheerily skipped to the entrance of the sea food restaurant; excited to be eating at one of my favorite places. The crab cakes at this place are super delicious. _

_Mom and Dad were slowly walking behind me; pacing themselves. I waited at the door and frantically jumping up and down for them to come near me so that I could go inside. Hunger had already taken over me; making me desperate for something edible._

"_Mommy, daddy!" I called out. "Come on, come on! I'm hungry!" _

"_Okay, honey," my mom said calmly. She beamed at me for my level of enthusiasm. She knows that this is one of my favorite restaurants after all._

_My dad then added, "We're coming, we're coming." He looked at my mom kindly and gave her a kiss on the cheek. _

_Most kids are totally grossed out when their parents are lovey-dovey and all that, but I actually find it cute. Romance is super adorable and super sweet. It gave me hope that I will meet my Prince Charming one day. _

_When my parents and I finally got inside, I spotted an aquarium. This aquarium wasn't filled with a colorful assortment of small fish though. No, this aquarium was filled lobsters. More specifically, red lobsters. I guess that would explain the name of this place. _

_Mom and Dad went over to the woman to confirm the reservation they called for earlier. On the other hand, I decided to wander off to the lobster filled tank. _

_I stared at the creatures in front of me. They stared me back with their beady black eyes. The lobsters' shell skin was obviously red, and their antennae stood up like pieces of static hair. Tilting my head, I tapped the glass that separated me from the animals and the animals from me. I tapped the hard glass again. The lobsters in the tank didn't move a muscle nor did their eyes. Wait – do lobsters have muscles?_

_In the aquarium, I noticed that one of the lobsters didn't have one of their claws clutched closed. It remained open, but it didn't move or do anything. Also, I noticed that for some reason, the lid to the tank is open. Looking around, I made sure that no one was watching me at that moment._

_So, I stood on the tops of my tippy toes, and put my hand in the water. I immediately got goose bumps from how the chilling the water was. My hand moves through the semi-clean liquid and I attempt to stand even higher. I then petted one of the lobster's backs. Its shell was smooth to the touch; I stroked my hand back and forth, back and forth._

_The lobster I was petting also happened to be the one that had an open claw. It wasn't the best idea, but I shifted my hand and used my fingers to feel the claw. The edges were jagged bumps and I imagined them as tiny little red mountains. My fingers stroked back and forth once again, but only this time against the opened claw. I continued to go on petting the lobster. I thought it was perfectly safe since the lobster hadn't pinched me. _

_But, I thought wrong. _

_PINCH!_

"_Owie!" I cried. Immediately, I pulled my hand out of the cool water. I examined the injury with my eyes, scanning the hurt I felt. All four of my fingers were red and I felt them pulsing hardly. They burned like fire, but no water could extinguish the pain. "Mommy, daddy, help me!" _

"_Ally?!" My mom and dad rushed over to me as they had been working out a reservation mishap._

"_Sweetie, what happened?" Mom knelt down and carefully looked at my four fingers; making sure not to touch them._

"_I was just petting the lobster," I casually tried to explain. Tears started to escape from my eyes and streaked down my cheeks, which were bright red at the moment._

_Dad sighed and excused himself, "I'm going to get some ice." He walked off in the direction of what I assumed was the kitchen and the woman talking to my parents earlier followed him._

"_Ally, why did you touch the lobster?" my mom asked._

"_I wanted to see what it felt like." I brushed off my childish stupidity; trying to push it away._

_All the while I was crying, Dad came back and applied the ice to my hand. He picked me up and we went out the door of Red Lobster. I was put into the car with my seat belt on. Mom and Dad didn't say another word as they drove away, and neither did I._

* * *

Up in the practice room, Austin and I are debating which weapons would work best against a lobster like Claws.

"We can't use the bats or frying pans," I reason out with Austin. Hey, I have fighting skills. I know what I'm talking about. Seriously though, something as had as a bat or pan won't damage the shell of a giant lobster. I mean, it could, but not enough so that it would hurt or anything. "They're not going to do much."

"Okay, so how about these?" Austin holds up two different swords. One of the two is a katana, and the other being a machete. Both are encased in their own sword holder to prevent any stupid mistakes while holding them. Size wise, the katana is longer than what the machete is. "Between these two, I think a katana would be more effective than a machete."

"Yeah, you have to be really close to _Claws_ to hit it with that." I gesture to the machete knife, and Austin puts that back in the closet with the bats and frying pans.

Also inside the closet, there are rifles and pistol guns along with a few grenades. Grenades would come in handy, but I let go of the idea when realizing that they might cause too much damage. On another note, chain saws are just too violent. Honestly, how many people would want lobster guts everywhere?

Austin then asks, "Alright, so, do you think you'll be okay with a katana?" I can by his facial expression that he's slightly concerned of my protection, but I had been concerned for his protection beforehand too. I suppose that makes us even.

"Yeah, I'll be fine with it." He hands me the katana that's still in its case and I attach the band of the holder around the belt loops of my shorts. The blonde has a katana of his own as well.

Huh, what do you know? It's not every day you get to fight a giant lobster by using katanas with your best friend in a special dream world.

"Ready to do this?" Austin pops his collar to show his readiness.

"Ready as I'll ever be." I try my best to look as confident as ever, but the thing is; I'm terrified.

Not only did I have stage fright, I also have _kabourophobia. _That, there being the fear of lobsters. How I got this fear is a long story…

"Then, let's do this." He holds out hand, and shines that signature smile of his. Austin's signature smiles pretty much lights up anyone's day even at the most depressing times. If you don't smile when Austin does, then you have no heart whatsoever. Yes, I really mean that. His smiles light up the entire world; or at the very least, my world.

I take ahold of my friend's soft hand and we exit the store. Bravery takes over both of our faces no matter how scared I actually am.

Out and about in the mall, it is nearly deserted. Running past us in panic, are only a few amount of people. I'm going to take a guess and say that most have already gone.

"Help, help! Help!"

The voice of a young boy rings in my ears, and I find the familiarity by the sound of it. I know him. Austin and I share quick glances; and the realization dawns onto my friend's face as well. His face turns a pale ghostly white; growing more worried with the passing second. We run while pulling our katanas out to the cries of the young ten-year old. Who exactly would this ten-year old be?

If you guessed Nelson; you are correct.

"We're coming Nelson!" Austin yells out. I assume Austin doesn't go into super speed mode solely because he wouldn't want me to be left behind. It doesn't take long for us to reach near Nelson.

Skidding to a stop on the pavement, the two of us look at the creature cornering Nelson. _Claws_ pinches its claws as if it is for a test. I bet it's imagining being able to pinch Nelson to pieces with its deadly weapons. Okay, that's a disturbing thought, but from the point of view of a giant lobster; it seems legitimate.

"Austin, Ally!" Nelson hopelessly calls to us. "Help, this thing's going to eat me!"

Neither Austin nor I say a word to each other. Instead, we head into different directions in order to distract the lobster.

"Hey _Claws_!" Austin shouts. _Claws_ diverts its attention to my blonde friend and away from the young boy. "Over here!" Austin taunts the monster by performing a couple spins and jumps with his sword like in the movies. I then wave my hand and mouth 'Go' to Nelson as a gesture so that he could escape from danger. Quickly and quietly as a mouse, I help him escape from the scene. Now, it is for me and Austin to deal with.

Since the clawed creature is currently facing Austin, I decide to taunt it as well. "Yo, lobster!" The animal, or monstrosity I would say, turns away from my friend and towards me. With one free hand, I gesture for the creature to come closer to me. It obeys my command.

All the while, Austin prepares for the perfect opportunity to strike _Claws_ on the back or in the legs. I lick my lips and clutch onto my katana now with both of my hands as if I were up to bat in a baseball game. I feel it starting to shake; it might be able to tell the actual fright in my eyes.

As _Claws_ is near enough for me to strike, I also know Austin ready to strike as well. We still have this whole mental telepathy thing going on.

'_Okay, now!' Austin mentally says to me._

'_Got it!'_

SLASH! SLASH!

I swing my sword diagonally upward to the left and scar the lobster's face. At the same time, Austin strikes downward; hoping to injure one of its legs. Again, I attack with the katana, but this time diagonally downward to the left. From a clear view, the front of _Claw's_ face is scarred in the letter "_X"_.

Austin then hits the other back leg in order to attempt knocking it down.

Over and over, Austin and I continue at attacking the monstrous lobster. It tends to dodge a few of my moves and even attempts to retaliate against me with its claws, but I'm able to stick my ground while fighting it. From the back, Austin moves from the legs and to both sides of the lobster. Then, he looks over to me in the eyes.

Our eyes lock and I sense from him that he wants us to now be in the same place. I swiftly nod.

One more time, I slash my sword against the surface of the shell and duck and roll under a claw to reach Austin. How I'm able to pull all these moves off is a complete mystery to me; I've never trained in martial arts or gymnastics before.

Side by side with Austin, we spin our swords in unison as another taunt. _Claws _now faces us; pinching its claws in a returning taunt. Austin and I lock eyes again; forming a plan to possibly defeat and kill the creature. The plan is a little cliché at that, but either way, it just might work.

We dash right at _Claws_. Though, it is somewhat of an illusion. I am the one to charge head on at the creature and attack once again, while my blonde friend slides under the lobster's body and strikes from underneath.

I position my hands and sword for an uppercut move just as Austin is able to slide down under.

He's about to hit the lobster's underside, but stops before doing so. He looks right at me, and that concerned look gets written on his face again.

_Claws_ then swats my sword away to the side and away from my reach. I suddenly panic and mentally push my _"panic button". _With no weapon in my hands, I start to slowly back away; my fear of lobsters growing bigger and bigger with each passing second.

I continue to take backward steps; not knowing what to do. I acknowledge help from Austin, and that's when he decides to strike the animals' belly side. He hits it hard and pushes his katana far into the creature. Unfortunately, what was supposed to hurt _Claws_ doesn't, and I keep on taking backward steps.

I see Austin attempt to remove his sword from the body it's trapped in. But, I can tell that it's no use. Austin pants and pants from trying to remove his weapon. I can tell that he's trying the best he can, but it cannot be done.

Just then, when my friend keeps trying to pull out his katana, it just magically disappears. No proof that it was ever even there. It just disappears. Austin tries to check if it's invisible, but when he realizes it's not really there anymore, he escapes from behind.

As I am walking backwards, Austin frantically searches the area for my katana as it had been knocked away earlier on. Then, _it happens._

My back hits the back corner of a wall, and _Claws_ is able to surround me. I find no escape except for going underneath, but with my chances, I can't risk a duck and roll movie again. My face suddenly flushes with fear and my hands start to become moist with sweat. The heart inside of me pumps blood ever so quickly to my brain; making my temples pulse hardly as well. My eyes look into the black ones of the lobster, and the memory of me getting pinched flows through my brain. But, a nightmarish imagination takes over and I cannot help but visualize my whole body being crushed by those gigantic claws and Austin wouldn't be able to do anything but watch.

I shake that nightmare out of my head and try to think of something to do. Except, there's no way I could possibly defend myself. I'm stuck in the corner alone just like how I used to be treated in school. I've been picked on by bullies. I'm a loner, I'm a nobody, I'm someone no one would care talking to even if I were the last one on Earth.

Then, in the corner of my eye, something captures my attention with a shine. I turn my head to the left and see an object that could actually be used as a weapon. It's a long shot, but it just might work.

An umbrella.

* * *

**Hmm…apparently **_**kabourophobia**_** is the name for the fear of lobsters and crabs. I researched it online and only found the answer on **_**Yahoo! Answers**_**. There was also something like "lobsterusphobia" or something like that, but **_**kabourophobia **_**obviously sounded more official. If you know that there is another name for the fear of lobsters, then feel free to tell me. :) It's not really important, but I'm curious.**

**Oh, whoever put this fanfic in **_**The Auslly Club**_**, can you let me know? 'Cause I was just wondering who… **

**I'm also a little curious to know what you think of the story so far because I know it's a little more unique than any other of the fanfics. When I came up the idea for this, I decided to just go for it and see how it goes. :P Is there something you'd want to see or know? Or something you don't like? And, how did I do with the action scenes? I haven't really done it before… Ah, and I know you all want the Auslly. ;D For the time being, they'll be just friends. **

**Key words: "For the time being" :D**


	10. Chapter 10

**Before reading, I'd like to say thanks for all the reviews throughout the fanfic so far which is just almost fifty. :) So, thanks; I love getting feedback. You may now read on! :D**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN Austin & Ally or Sonic the Hedgehog.**

* * *

_**Austin**_

Fighting a giant lobster with your best friend using katanas can actually be a lot of fun. It feels like we're on top of the world, and that we could do anything that we want to. We could even be something more.

But, when the tables are turned, fighting a giant lobster in order to save your best friend from being pinched with no weapon in your hand whatsoever… Well, that's not as fun. Basically, everything in our current situation turns upside down.

I panic frantically; trying to find something to use in order to harm _Claws._ At first, I try to find the katana sword Ally lost only moments earlier, but it's nowhere in sight. Where it went? I don't know. Do weapons just happen to magically disappear into nothing?

Apparently, yes. I suppose anything can happen in the dream world.

Just then, something catches my eye.

To my right, I can see a closed umbrella lying on the ground. Though, the umbrella seems…different somehow. Umbrellas don't shine, do they?

A gut feeling in my…well, gut, is telling me to just go pick it up. Well, what if I don't want to? Umbrellas can be pretty dangerous, you know. They can tear off your _pants._

Okay, now my gut is telling me that I _need_ to go pick up that umbrella. I stare at it; debating whether to follow what my gut is telling me.

'_Austin, it's not your gut!' A female voice calls out. 'It's me, Ally! Use the umbrella to fight Claws!'_

Oh, so I suppose having my gut telling me what to do was weird; it would make more sense for Ally to talk to me using our mental telepathic abilities. Obeying my brunette friend, I run over to where the closed umbrella is. Again, I stare at the thing; hesitating to grab it. I force my right hand to move itself and it does, but I can't quite get it.

_Dang it! Why can't I just grab the stupid umbrella? It has no power over me!_

Wait – it has no power over me. Technically, I have power over the umbrella. I think I can do this. Yeah, I can do this.

I bite my lip and take the umbrella in my hands. A sharp point at the end glows at me and I hold onto the handle. I _can_ do this. I have the power.

Turning around to see the behind of _Claws_, I shout, "Hey _Claws_!" The giant lobster moves its body away from my girlfr – I mean Ally. Anyways, with Ally out of the lobster's sight, she turns invisible and goes off somewhere. Hopefully, it'll be out of harm's way.

I taunt the monster, "I'm not scared of you!" I can see _Claws's _ugly face turn angry and malicious. The creature moves toward me at a faster pace than before, but all I do is twirl and spin my umbrella. "I'm not scared of anything," I then say to it. Those words just happened to come out of my mouth. I didn't really think about it before saying it, but it doesn't take a heartbeat for me to realize how true those words are. _I'm not scared of anything._

With _Claws_ in front of me, I keep my facial expression determined and confident. Using my super speed, I start to run around the creature in circles. Surprisingly, I don't get dizzy from it. I can see _Claws _continuing to take glimpses around; confused. It attempts to try pinching me with its claws, but it is luckily to no avail. I am a human version of _Sonic the Hedgehog._ The only difference is that I'm not blue, or a hedgehog.

Having possibly made _Claws_ dizzy enough, I stop my circling run and spring myself onto an empty table. I take my left foot and place it behind my right foot, lick my lips, and tighten my grip on the umbrella. I then jump off the table with the point of my weapon aimed at the back of the monstrous creature.

In the air, time seems to just slow down. It's that kind of feeling when you're so focused on something that everything seems to go by at snail speed. Like how maybe in a sport, when there's a soccer ball passed to you and you kick it into the goal with every ounce of power in your body, or when you take the last shot in a basketball game that will either determine a win or a loss, or when you're running the same speed as someone else in the hundred meter dash and you try to pass them before they pass you. _That feeling_, is what I'm feeling now.

They say that what goes up must come down. Well for me, gravity pulls me down hard from the sky. Fortunately, the effect enables my umbrella to pierce into _Claws's_ body considering how hard shells can be. A crack can be heard when the weapon strikes the red surface.

A second after I make a direct hit, I immediately pull the umbrella out and flip backwards; also ending with a finishing move like karate fighters do.

Since _Claws_ is well, a lobster, it doesn't make any noise when hurt, but I can literally feel the anger reflecting off of its skin. I could guess that it could be scorching hot to the touch. Oozing from its back though, a type of liquid drips down the sides of the lobster. It's generally white in color, with a tint of blue. Then, I realize that it's _Claws's _blood. Well, what do you know? Biology class can be helpful at times.

The monster then pinches its claws and reaches out for my head with it. I duck my head and roll sideways to the left. Twirling around my umbrella again, I attack one of its claws.

SLASH! SLASH!

More bluish lobster blood escapes from the body and a lot more of it gets on the mall pavement. With its other claw, _Claws _once again tries to hurt me. Dodging its pinches, I pierce through that claw. Again, oozes out that bluish blood.

In the movies where the hero and the monster are fighting to save the girl or the people, or both, the main character has to figure out the one way to defeat the enemy. Everyone has their own Achilles Heel. For _Claws_, I've swung my katana and my umbrella at its belly side, legs, back, behind, and head. Though, it was Ally that had swung her sword at the head of the creature. But, I know that there's one specific part of the body that I haven't hit yet.

The chest.

Or at least, where I assume where the heart is. Okay, I wasn't _always_ paying attention in biology class.

I quickly come up with a plan that could just maybe finish off the giant lobster. In super speed mode again, I run in circles around _Claws_ just like before. Once again, it turns and slightly panics in confusion as it takes glances around the area to find me in one place. Then, I find a wall that _Claws's _face is turned toward to and run into it.

Well, not literally run into the wall; that would be stupid. No, I run _up_ the wall one step and used the power in my feet to bounce off of it. That way, I have my umbrella's sharp point aimed directly at the lobster's chest and heart. My back is at first faced to the ground since my whole body is stretched out. Hopefully, just hopefully, this'll work.

There's _that _feeling again. Everything around me seems to slow down as I charge at the creature through the air. Then, it gives me the thought of one possible flaw in this plan.

Even if I manage to kill the giant lobster, what if it could pinch some part of me? I assumed that I would be too fast for the creature to see anything coming towards it, but still. What if it pinched my leg or my feet? Well, I'd probably recover with only a minor injury. What if the claws pinched my torso? Okay, worse, but hopefully, not too bad? Wait – what if it pinched my…head? Um, I'm not going to answer that question…

Though, it bothers me that there's a possibility that I could be somehow killed. What would happen to me then? Just like I had thought of this before, I have no idea. With any luck, maybe I won't find out.

_CRACK!_

The sharp point of my weapon strikes the monster's chest; going deep into its body. My eyes widen at what might be success or failure. Though, my hands stay stuck onto the umbrella.

Suddenly, from an opening into _Claws's_ body, I see a white ball and it starts to expand. It then turns into another one of those white flashes and I squint due to its brightness. Eventually, I shut my eyes and simply hope for the best.

But next thing I know, I'm lying face down on the ground. I groan; picking myself up. I dust myself free from tiny pavement bits and dirt. Taking looks around, I no longer see _Claws_ or any sign off it along with the umbrella. It all just seemed to disappear. It's almost as if there wasn't even a fight with the monster in the first place. Then, the thought of Ally occurs in my head.

Almost as if she heard my thoughts, Ally reappears a few feet away from me. Without saying anything, we run up to each other and immediately hug. I let go after a couple seconds.

I ask her, "Ally, are you alright?"

She responds, "Yeah, I am now. Glad that's over." Relief takes over as the expression on my face as well as hers.

"Tell me about it. I'm just glad that we're both okay."

"Agreed." Ally compliments, "You were really brave out there though."

"Thanks," I say. "But not as brave as you were."

Her eyebrows are knitted together in a bit of surprise behind it. "Really?"

"Yeah, you were trapped face to face with that lobster." Ally was definitely braver than I was.

Then, the brunette makes a good point. "Thanks, but you were the one that defeated it."

"Hey," I start. "When I fought it, I could've run away and escaped. For you to stand there without being able to do anything, that makes you braver than I am."

She sighs. "That's so sweet Austin." Ally throws her arms around me again for another hug, and I can't help but hug her back. I can smell her hair; which has a pure scent of sweet strawberries. A feeling of comfort and happiness takes over and I love each second of it.

What seems like forever only lasts a few seconds as we slowly pull away from our hug. We still hold on to each other, my arms now around her waist, and her arms around my neck. The two of us lock eyes. I stare into those sparkling chocolate-brown eyes of hers. Then, I glance down at her lips – those soft and colored lips. I still am able to see that angelic beauty she had when we first met back in the pitch black darkness when I was able to observe her features; just like right now. Our faces are so close that I can feel her breathing. Not that it smells bad or anything, no. The scent is minty and its aroma wafts to my nose; making me sigh on the inside.

I look into Ally's brown eyes again and then back to her lips. And, being the hormone crazed boy I could possibly be, I tilt my head a little bit to the right and lean in closer to Ally. I feel myself get tense and my stomach all of a sudden fills with nervous butterflies rapidly flying around; my brain realizing what exactly I'm doing.

My eyes start to flutter close and I can just tell that Ally is leaning in too. Time seems to go by so slow as the distance between our lips becomes less and less.

Then, I somehow feel another white flash coming our way. I feel like it's going to interrupt our moment and probably ruin it. But, just as the flash comes, the gap between me and Ally closes. Our lips are able to connect. And all I have to say to that is –

It is the best feeling ever.

* * *

**I liked writing this chapter. :D It was…interesting, you could say. So, in last chapter's author's note, I said that Austin and Ally would be friends for the time being. And now…well, you know what happened. ;) The thing I'm asking you guys is, "What do you think happens next?" I'm interested in seeing your predictions, so if you'd like, go ahead and say it! :D**


	11. Chapter 11

**The fanfic has now reached over fifty reviews. :D So, I'd like to thank you all for reviewing the story and giving me feedback and such. Even though I don't always send out PMs for each review, I still read all of them. So, thank you again! :)**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN Austin & Ally.**

* * *

_**Ally**_

_I can feel Austin look into my eyes as I gaze into his hazel ones. We just stand there with our arms around each other – mine being around his neck and his around my waist. My brain keeps on pushing me to lean in for a kiss, but apparently, Austin beats me to it. _

_He tilts his head to the right and leans in closer to me. For a moment, I start to panic; unsolved feelings bubbling in my brain. But, I can't help myself to not lean in as well. My eyes slowly close and I suddenly get goose bumps of what may happen next. _

_Then, I somehow 'feel' a white flash coming that could possibly ruin the moment. Before I know it though, the gap between me and Austin is closed. Our lips are pressed together._

_At first, it comes as a shock to me. It's kind of like an electric shock in a way. And, there's this special feeling that I get. In my stomach for some weird reason, butterflies start flying around. It honestly is weird considering I've never felt this way before. Okay, I know there's still this chunk of the past I'm still missing from my memory, so for the time being, I'm not exactly sure what I'm feeling. I barely know how to describe it._

The white flash passes through us and I'm the first to pull away. I look into Austin's hazel eyes and freeze for a second. He stares right back at me. Our arms are still around each other, but neither of us let go of the other. We only stand in each other's arms gazing into the other's eyes.

Finally, Austin says, "Your hair." He knits his eyebrows confusingly.

"What about my hair?" What, does it look bad or something after the whole _Claws_ thing?

"It's different." Now, it's my turn to knit my eyebrows. What did…that mean? As if he could read my mind, Austin adds on, "Not that it looks bad or anything, but it like, has highlights. And, it's more, um, curly."

"Really?" I take my arms off of his neck, causing him to remove his from around my waist.

I then realize our surroundings. The practice room. Walking over to a nearby mirror, I realize that my friend's right. My hair is different. I touch the ends of it; examining my new blonde highlights. In fact, it looks just how it did when I first woke up in that darkness. Whoa, that's weird. Then again, since when things aren't weird in the dream world?

"Wow," I then say. "My hair looks really good!"

"Way to be modest, Ally," Austin jokes. Playfully, I roll my eyes.

On another note, I also notice that there's been yet another automatic clothing change. This time, I'm wearing a sparkly pink top and gray skinny jeans. Austin on the other hand wears a black shirt with an olive-green jacket and dark blue jeans.

"But, um, anyway," I speak up. "We should talk about–"

My blonde friend cuts me off. "The kiss."

"Yeah." The two of us sit down in chairs facing each other. Before saying anything else, I carefully choose my words. "Well, the kiss – It was…good." I decide to go with something simple as "good"; trying to not make things too complicated. I mean, even if the kiss is considered good, could we be, like, together? That would be weird. Would it?

Nearly almost after I say it, Austin says, "The kiss was really good."

"Okay, really good," I admit. I have to admit, for my first kiss, it was really good. There's supposed to be that electric spark running through your body. I think…

"So, now what? Do we stay friends? Or do we…?" He doesn't complete his last sentence, and I'm not sure that he wants to.

I decide to bring up, "Well, we'll always be friends, right?"

"And partners," he adds on. "Always."

"Do you think we can agree on that for now?" I ask hopefully. A part of me wants to stay just friends with Austin, but another part of me wants to be dating Austin. But, I don't think we could right now. It somehow just doesn't seem right. I don't know why though.

"Yeah, I think we can agree on that." At the same time, we stand up from our spots. I hold out my hand for him to shake while the blonde holds out his arms for another hug. Then, we switch positions – my arms out for a hug and his hand out for me to shake. We chuckle at our gestures, and decide to go for the hug.

Again, our arms are around each other. And again, I get this warm and fuzzy feeling inside me. Though, it's actually a nice feeling.

But, even though Austin and I are going to remain just friends, I honestly don't think that will change either of our feelings. At the very least, it won't change my feelings. Because, I know just I have somehow fallen for my one and only blonde, childish, and talented rock star friend – Austin Moon.

* * *

"Okay, so if we're going to write more songs, we have to dig deep with our feelings. The words should come from your heart." I explain more of the songwriting process to Austin who's sitting on the black piano bench listening to me talk. I stand in front of the grand piano down in the store; using hand gestures. "What's the last powerful emotion you've experienced?"

"Well," Austin shrugs. "I've felt feelings?" Okay, not the response I'm looking for.

I try to push him a little. "Come on, you can do better than that."

"Yeah, but you are the song writer after all," Austin rejects. "What's the last powerful emotion _you've _experienced?"

Without even thinking about it, I say, "Love."

Austin shyly blushes and glances down at the ground before looking up at me again. "Really?"

"Yeah, I was standing next to you here, and I thought," I pause for a second; realizing what I'm about to say. "Man, I really love my grand piano. I've had it in the store for such a long time!" Well, I suppose that should be an okay cover up.

My friend gives me a small smile, and says, "Oh, well, I guess we can go with a love song then."

"Yeah, I love a good love song." I walk over to the piano bench and sit down next to him. "Let's come up with a few chords." I play a few keys on the piano; grinning at the start of a new song.

"That's sounds great," the blonde compliments my work. "Now, I'm guessing we come up with some lyrics. Um, so what's great about love?"

I dig into my thoughts. "Well, love never fades over time," I say. "It's…timeless."

"Ooh, I got it!" exclaims my friend. He sings and plays some keys on the piano, "_This love is never gonna fade. We are timeless! We are timeless!_"

I'm shocked at how Austin amazingly changed my words into good lyrics. "Wow, that's incredible! You're a better songwriter than I thought."

"Thanks," he tells me. "But, it was a good friend who taught me though."

My heart melts at his words. "Aww…" That is just so sweet of him to say.

"Well, was he taught to steal songs?" a voice interrupts us. Austin and I stand up from the piano bench to see who the person is. Actually, there are two people.

_Val and Trent._

Suddenly, memories of them start to overflow in my brain. I first remember Trent as Trish's boyfriend and back up dancer. But, it then hits me that he was only using Trish. Later on, Trent, or T-Fame as he calls himself, steals our song and he gets attacked by bees when he and Austin go on The Wanda Watson Show. After some time, Val comes into the picture. She tricked me and the rest of Team Austin to signing me to a five-year contract with The Stray Kitties. Luckily, I was able to get out of it. And then, she accused Austin of stealing 'her song', Steal Your Heart and we were all sent to court. Of course, we eventually won the trial after everyone figured out who the song was about. But, um, actually, I don't remember who the song was about.

"Val?" I question.

Austin adds on, "Trent?"

"What are you two doing here?" My friend asks them.

"And, what do you mean 'taught to steal songs'?" I also say. Okay, I know this woman is crazy, and also revengeful, but she is just over the top with these things.

"You and Austin stole our two songs," Trent answers. "You Can Come to Me and Steal Your Heart."

What? That's crazy! Why would I or Austin steal a song? Sure, Austin's stolen my song, Double Take, but he knows better now. "Why would we even think of that?"

"I don't know," Val then says to us. "But, it doesn't matter. See you both in court!" She lets out an evil and malicious laugh as she hands us a document with court information on it.

"Yeah, see you in court!" Trent snickers before following Val out of the store.

Hmm, this is going to get interesting. I'm sure we're definitely going to win the trial, but there's something that bothers me. I mean, last time this happened in the real world, Austin had to eventually sing his song to help prove his case. Now though, I think that means – Oh no…

That means this time in court, I have to perform You Can Come to Me with Austin. Well, things just get better and better, don't they?

* * *

**This chapter's a lot shorter than the previous ones, but of course, I needed a chapter to move the story along to the next point in my plot. :) So, yeah. Things are _definitely_ going to be interesting soon. :D**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN Austin & Ally.**

* * *

_**Austin**_

"_See you both in court!" I hear Val say. She belches out an evil and cocky laugh. My face almost gets red with anger, but I resist the inner feelings of getting the best of me._

"_Yeah, see you in court!" Trent snickers. He follows Val out of the store. I can't help but cringe and let my face flush with hate. I just hate that guy. What was his stage name again? T-Lame, or whatever? See, Trent has actually stolen a song, whereas Val accuses us of stealing one of hers. To be honest though, I'm not really sure which is worse, but they're both bad enemies all the same._

Of course, I evidently have real life memories of the two.

Trent dating Trish just to be my backup dancer.

Him stealing one of our songs and copying my entire life.

Val tricking Ally into a five year contract with the Stray Kitties.

Her sending us to court for the accusation of stealing the song – Steal Your Heart.

It is basically the same thing happening again, except with one extra song involved: You Can Come to Me. I remember it as the way of Ally finally overcoming her stage fright. We performed a duet together at The Jungle Café, and afterwards… Actually, I don't know what happened after that performance. I think there was something about an after party for her or something like that.

Though, that would mean that Ally has to perform now. She hast to overcome her stage fright. …Again. I'm not even sure how she feels about that. Is she actually calm about it? Or is she freaking out about this? I have this feeling that she just might be freaking out at the moment. Or, maybe she is calm about this. But, if Ally is freaking out, she wouldn't be the only one.

Steal Your Heart is an obvious love song. How could it not? But, the thing I figured out earlier on was that I had written the song all by myself. And, I rejected the idea that the song was about a girl. In truth, it really was, but I couldn't say who.

As if it wasn't obvious already, the song is clearly about the brilliant, brunette, singer-songwriter, Ally. Last time, a question arose of who the song could be about since I've been seen with three other girls. Those three girls being Brooke, the European Supermodel – who was really just a fake girlfriend – and Kira. I don't know why the media put Ally as a suggestion though; did we even date in real life? I'm not positive if we did, or even would. I mean, we are just friends after all. But, well, I guess we do hang out pretty much every day and we spend so much time together, but that's what best friends do. Right?

* * *

Up in the practice room, I sit on a chair with my leg placed horizontally on top of the other. I rubbed my chin with my thumb and index finger; thinking about our current situation. So, kind of like a therapist or a psychologist. Anyways though, the first problem was getting rid of Tilly's blog and the angry mall association mob. Second, it was fighting a gigantic real life _Claws._ And now, we're going to be off to court for a trial about song stealing. Oh, what could possibly be next for me and Ally?

I also think about Ally's stage fright. Will she be able to overcome it? What would happen after? If she doesn't, how else could we help our case? Would the judge automatically call our verdict as guilty? Is it possible that he could still determine our date as innocent? So many questions asked, and so many to be found.

After a long few minutes, I speak up, "Hey, Ally?"

Ally lifts her head up. "Yeah?" She's sitting on the piano bench writing scribbling words onto the pages of her songbook.

"Not to worry you or anything, but will you be able to sing the song? In front of a court room full of people?"

The brunette sighs and closes her leather book. "Yes Austin, of course I'll be able to perform in a room full of people, and not freak out in a total breakdown in front of everyone because of my super paralyzing fear that has kept me from chasing my dreams for years."

I don't catch the sarcasm in her voice. "Well, that's good. I thought I'd have to be worried about you."

Giving me the 'Really?' look, she says, "Austin, I was being sarcastic. How can someone not be worried about having to face their biggest fear?"

"You'll be fine," I immediately assure.

Ally stands up and crosses her arms. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because," I begin to point out. "We just went up against a giant lobster. If you can do that, you can totally sing in front of a crowd."

I can tell that boosts her confidence a little bit; putting a cute grin on her face. "Really?"

"Yeah, _I believe in you._" I try to put power into those three simple words. All Ally needs is just a little push to doing this.

Her smile brightens the room again. "Thanks." A feel of relief hovers around us, but a concerning wind blows it away. "But, what if I have some sort of mental breakdown out there? Then what?"

"You are not going to have a breakdown," I promise. "And, I'm going to be up there with you. You Can Come to Me _is_ a duet, remember?"

"I know, but I don't know."

"'I know, but I don't know'," I repeat her. "Gee, that makes _so much_ sense." My girlfr – I mean, friend only looks down shamefully.

"Look, like I said before. I honestly do believe in you. I promise I'll help you through this. I know you can do it." I stand up, and stare her straight into her chocolate brown eyes. "I promise."

As if in a hypnotic trance, Ally replies, "Okay, I trust you."

I return the smile from earlier. "Good. So, let's practice the songs! Oh, and call Trish and Dez for help in court."

"Yeah, we should," the brunette agrees. "Both of those things."

"Sounds like a plan."

Ally calls Trish, and I call Dez on our phones so that they could possibly help us out. Surprisingly, both of them had already heard of the court news, and they were both gladly willing to help us. Apparently, the two had a Crime & Judgment marathon of all eight seasons, and just somehow knew everything about laws as well as politics. Normally, I would have argued about the topic since learning about all that boring law stuff requires, oh, I don't know, _law school?!_ But, I don't think we have a choice. Who else could we find?

Then, Ally and I sit at the piano to first rehearse You Can Come to Me. Due to us gradually regaining our memories, we know all of the lyrics; along with the melody and chords to play in on both piano and guitar. As we sing and play the song, I'm able to her Ally's voice. Like, you know; her singing voice. I would be lying if I said that her voice sounded terrible. It's the exact opposite of 'terrible'. She has the voice of an angel – which I know sounds pretty cheesy – to go with her angelic face features. How else could she be more… Perfect?

After practicing the song repeatedly, we move on to my song: Steal Your Heart. Ally gets off of the piano bench and sits down in another spot in the room in order to watch me. I wouldn't have minded if she stayed sitting next to me, but hey, it's her choice. I suppose Ally just wanted me to have more focus and concentration.

I press my fingers against the black and white keys. They almost seem to move on their own even. Naturally singing the lyrics to the song, I can actually _feel_ the music. It's a pretty awesome feeling; especially when you realize that it's you that wrote such an amazing song. And hey, I can brag about it. Guys can have their bragging rights, right? Huh, that sounds repetitive.

I remember from a distant memory of when I had snooped on Ally for the first time in her old practice room. It was when we were back in the real world, and it was only some amount of minutes after we had met down below in the store by the drum set. I wanted to purchase the harmonica for free, since it was covered in old lady spit and all. But, when I reached the door of the room, I heard singing. Luckily, the door was open a crack, so I was able to sneak a peek inside. I watched Ally sing a few lyrics, and it was purely amazing. A voice like hers can't compare to another's.

Silently and slowly like a ghost or a ninja – or a ghost ninja, I opened the door and walked over to the piano. Ally didn't notice me, so I continued to observe the way the music empowered the room. By that, I actually felt the way her voice sung in harmony with the music. Though, after a bit, she suddenly noticed my presence and jumped up from her spot; her voice now in talking mode.

When I sing this song, Steal Your Heart, I can feel the emotion and power I put into these lyrics. Ally originally came up with the melody and chords for this, but we still consider it as my song. My first successful hit song. And, the fact that it's about Ally makes my heart pound harder, and the butterflies inside flap their wings faster. But, that is the feeling you get when you experience the power of music.

And when we get to court, I hope Ally can move past all the bad memories of her biggest and paralyzing fear so that she can feel how great it is to experience the power of music in her voice – and see how other people are greatly affected by it too.

* * *

**This chapter was pretty cheesy and kind of a filler, but since I switch off of Austin's and Ally's point of views, I wanted Ally to have the first 'court' chapter before Austin. :P There's a reason for that…and you will just have to wait next chapter to find out that reason. ;) **


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN Austin & Ally.**

* * *

_**Ally**_

Austin, Trish, Dez, and I settled in our seats at a smooth, wooden table on our side of the court room. Trish and Dez are our co-lawyers and of course, Austin and I are evidently their clients. Apparently, each client can have their own lawyer, even though Trish is probably going to take over the role as Dez acts like a witness. The memories are definitely giving me good – possibly extremely accurate – insights on the happenings of the case.

On the other side of the room, Val and Trent sit next to their own glossy, brown table. Sitting on the piece of furniture is a plain old black briefcase that has an identical appearance to the one Dez has on our own table. Eh, probably just a bunch of papers. I mean, what evidence could they actually _have_?

Surrounding us in the back of the court room, are the people of the jury, and other spectators of the case. Everyone all dressed up in lavish clothing, chatter amongst themselves.

Austin then asks Trish and Dez, "Guys, are you sure you know what you're doing?" His expression is somewhat anxious; not faithfully certain if having our best friends as lawyers is the greatest idea in the world.

Assuring Austin, the Latina tells him, "Puh-lease, if eight seasons of Crime & Judgment doesn't qualify Dez and me to be representing you two, then what does?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe four years of law school, several internships, passing the bar exam…" I point out. "See my point?" The blonde gestures to them about the common sense my statement.

The redhead suddenly says, "Wait, what point? I don't see a point. Do you mean like a ball _point_ pen?" He takes out a pen and presses the end of it; making the writing end of it pop up and down.

I mentally face palm.

"Dez, what are you talking about?" Trish and Austin simultaneously speak up.

Then, forgetting about his friend's stupidity, Austin says to Trish, "Ha, jinx!" Pointing his finger to her, he chuckles to himself. "You owe me a soda!" Still chuckling, the blonde and redhead do their signature handshake while Trish and I simply roll our eyes. They can be so childish sometimes. Oh, who am I kidding? They _are _childish.

Both of them continue to share snickers between each other until the judge pounding his gavel; voices to everybody in the room, "Order! Order!" He opens up a file with a couple of sheets paper slipped inside it. Adjusting his glasses, he adds on, "I hereby call to order _Case Number 4284_, the matter of-" The judge pauses and widens his eyes with delight. "Ooh, two stolen songs! Austin Moon and Ally Dawson – this is going to be better than I thought!" Rubbing his hands briefly, the judge puts a smile on his face.

My friend, Trish, clears her throat and rises from her seat. Before she could take another step, Austin talks in concern again, "You're ready for this, right?" I look at the rock star; conceptually supporting his point.

"Don't worry," she reassures. "I got this." Walking up close to the judge with a file clutched between her hands, Trish says, "Trish de la Rosa for the defense, your honor. My clients are innocent; they wrote these two songs." She places the paper file near the judge.

"And I am here to prove that I wrote those two songs," Val expresses out loud. "To prove that Austin Moon and Ally Dawson are thieves."

The judge somewhat jokingly adds on, "Ooh, this is going to be good! Let's get this trial started!" He pounds his gavel on the wood, once again. Man, it'd be pretty cool to be a judge. I mean, I just love gaveling!

"Now, Ms. Crawford and Mr. Jackson," the judge's voice aimed at the two. "Do you have any evidence to support your case?"

"Why yes," Val responds. "We'd like to call my first witness." She calls up Dez to the witness stand; taking his black briefcase with him, and sits down in the chair. The judge puts him under oath before proceeding. Trent is the one who stands in front of Dez though.

Clearing his throat, Trent says, "Dez, I can't help but see that your briefcase looks pretty similar to my new one. My old one looks like yours, but it went missing a few weeks ago. What exactly is in it?"

"Well, this suit case is just like one of my favorite character's in Crime & Judgment. That's why I decided to buy it. But, you see, inside it," the redhead unlatches the lock on the case; opening it up. "I have a notebook with your name on it." Wait, that's not right. "A driver's license with your name on it." Hold on a second, how did – "And, sheets of paper with the lyrics to You Can Come to Me and Steal Your Heart with your name and also Val's name on it."

The people in the jury gasp with shock. The red-head immediately puts on a horrified face; pondering of how Trent's possessions got into his brief case. Austin, Trish, and I shift in our chairs nervously; also in shock. Where did his Dez's things go? Trent slams her hand down on the hard wood. "You stole my briefcase!"

Val then snatches the lyric papers out of Dez's hand and practically shoves it in the judge's face. "Your honor, these papers of song lyrics _proves_ that me and Trent wrote the two songs."

"That is pretty compelling evidence," points out the judge.

Trish stands and yells, "Objection! They're lying, and we can prove it!" Whispering to us, she questions Austin and me, "Can we prove it?"

An idea pops into my head. "Wait…" I take my songbook out of my small purse and hold it out in front of me. Then, I take a look at Austin's songbook on the table as well. Our songbooks can counter as evidence! Standing up, I grab mine and Austin's songbooks; ignoring my friends' questions. "Your honor, I would like to submit my songbook and Austin's songbook. Inside mine holds the lyrics to You Can Come to Me, and Austin's holds the lyrics to Steal Your Heart." Placing them by the judge, he picks them up and flips through mine first.

"Hmm, yes, I see lyrics to You Can Come to Me in here." My face grows smug with pride. I turn around for a quick second, and see Val's face slightly develop red with anger while Trent gives me an evil eye. Then, the judge picks up Austin's songbook, and a confused look is shown on his face. "But, there's nothing in this book, as far as I can see. It's completely blank." Raising one eyebrow, I turn to face Austin.

"I never wrote in it?" he tries to excuse himself. Gee, you think after genuinely getting your friend a songbook to help them, that they might, oh, I don't know, use it?

Austin then announces, "I remember writing Steal Your Heart on a napkin!" He hastily digs into one of his pants pockets, but all that comes out from it are shredded white bits. He lets them fall from his hands and onto the carpeted floor. "Apparently, my mom washed them…"

The little bulb appears over my head lights up like in all the cartoons. It's evident that almost everything that's happening is similar to the events in the real world. The brief case evidence, Austin's songbook being blank, the napkin being shredded… If Austin was able to perform Steal Your Heart and help win the case, then maybe we can do the same thing. But of course, with a different sort of twist to it though.

I speak up in front of everyone, "May I call up Trent to the witness stand, your honor?"

Somewhat taken aback by the question, he says, "Oh, sure."

Once Val has been taken under oath and all that, I stand in front of her and ask, "So, Trent, you say that you wrote You Can Come to Me. Is that correct?"

Snippily, he says, "Yes, _I_ wrote You Can Come to Me _and_ Steal Your Heart." It's an obvious question and answer, but that, is far from what I'm trying to get at.

"Okay." I start to pace back and forth from my spot. "And whom exactly would the song, You Can Come to Me, be about?" At the moment, I only focus on You Can Come to Me; the evidence for Austin's song should come later on during the trial.

Trent raises both his eyebrows; clearing having not seen the question coming. "Well–"

I don't really intend to, but I cut her off anyway. "Because you see, whenever Austin and I write songs together, it usually is about someone. For us, it is mainly about our friendship." I take a look behind me, and see Austin grinning at me. His face is covered without worry; almost as if he knows the exact formalities of my plan at the moment.

Then, I give Trent a second to see if he responds to part of my explanation as well as turning around again to see anything from Val, but no words escape from their mouths. So, I continue. "When people want to write songs, they want inspiration. For myself, I ask the question, _'What's the last powerful emotion you've experienced?' _Most of the time, it's something like happiness or friendship. And the majority of the time, it would be about my friends." I just had the feeling to restate that my songs are usually about my friends; as if those words can make a huge impact on the case.

"True," Val actually admits from behind. Trent remains silent. "But who says that the song needs to be about anyone?"

I point out, "I never said that it _needs_ to be about someone; I said that it _usually is_." Giving a few seconds for not just Val and Trent, but the court room to process my words, I then question, "So, may I ask you _and Val _again, whom exactly would the song, You Can Come to Me, the song that you say _you_ wrote, be about?"

"It doesn't have to be about anyone," Trent says. "And, it's _not_." I remember Austin a couple of times using the same excuse for the sudden inspiration of Steal Your Heart. But, I still know a way for us to gain something in this case.

Even though she is not at the witness stand, I add-on anyway, "Anything to say, Val?"

Almost immediately she answers, "Like Trent said, the song, You Can Come to Me, is not about anyone." I hoped that at some point they would slip up on their words and indirectly give us the advantage, but both Trent and Val seem to be keeping their cool. Dismissing Trent back to his seat as I go back to mine, yet another idea forms in my mind.

I send a mind message to Austin using our telepathic abilities. _'I need you to tell Trish to say for us to perform You Can Come to Me as another piece of evidence.'_

'_Okay,' Austin answers me. 'But how will this help again? What about the music? I didn't think I would need my guitar…' Well, it seems like I remember the real life moment, but a certain someone doesn't… Maybe he just forgot._

'_Just trust me on this, and use the one behind you.'_

I didn't realize it at first either, but right when he mentioned not having an instrument, I spotted a guitar right behind his chair. It's like it came out of nowhere. But, knowing the powers of the dream world, it possibly could have come out of nowhere. The blonde turns around and sees the brown instrument, and I can sense a smug growing on his face. Then, he whispers something to Trish, and she nods.

"Your honor," Trish says. "I have another piece of evidence to give. I would like for Austin and Ally to perform You Can Come to Me!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Trent says out of nowhere. "I object!"

"And I object!" Val supports him. "Your honor, how is this relevant?"

The judge shrugs. "I don't know, but I want to see Austin and Ally perform!"

I lick my lips in response; remembering that I do have to perform. What's more is that I have to face my biggest and paralyzing fear.

_SHOOT._

"Are you ready for this?" Austin asks me. He takes the guitar from behind him; holding the neck with one hand.

Nervously, but yet confidently at the same time, I tell him, "Yeah, I think so."

"You _think_ so?" He obviously put a huge amount of emphasis on the word "think". It's no unsolvable mystery that he's grown anxious about me again.

"Okay, sorry," I apologize for the way I stated my words. "I know so."

Actually, I'm completely and utterly _horrified_! What am I going to do? Will I freak out in front of everybody? Will I manage to keep my cool? What the heck is going to happen? If anything bad happens, can we still support and win the trial?

As if reading my mind – which then again, he can – Austin says, "Hey, I'm going to be with you through the whole thing. I'm side by side with you each step of the way for the next few minutes." I nod; giving him my trust, yet again.

In the front of the court room, there are already microphones there. Where those came from, I have no idea. Austin adjusts his guitar to a comfortable position in his hands. I grip my microphone with both of my hands; feeling them getting moist with nervous sweat. Meanwhile, other people in the court room have been talking amongst themselves. The two of us looking to the judge in order to assure our readiness, he then gavels on the wood and shouts, "Order!" Instantly, the people quiet down and resettle in their seats.

Austin and I share a glance, as people wait for the start of the song. My blonde friend then begins with pressing his fingers against the frets and stroking his other hand up and down the strings with his pick. He gives me one last assuring look.

Facing the crowd, I open up my mouth and sing, _"When you're on your own, drowning alone…" _I then immediately stop.

Looking through some of the faces in the crowd, I see them stare at me with blank eyes. Judging my song. Judging my music. Judging…me. Then, I look over to Trent and Val who are attempting to hide devilish smiles from their faces. They're failing at that.

I imagine our two court opponents judging just everything about me. Thinking about horrible and pathetic I am. What was I thinking? I can't do this! I can't sing and perform in front of a crowd! Not when there are so many people here! Again, what the heck was I thinking? I'm not ready for this.

I'm just not.

Austin continues to play the chords on the guitar for a few more seconds to see if I could continue with the song, before stopping in general. I feel the air getting heavy. Everyone's pair of eyes stares at me. Wondering why I stopped in the middle of a lyric. The room feels as if it's been spinning, and I can't help but get dizzy. My eyes turn towards the door in the back of the room. I can feel warmth rushing to my cheeks to form a deep red blush; clearly embarrassed. How could this have just happened? And so, I ask myself the same question a third time. _What was I thinking?_

Holding back the humiliating tears, I release my tight grip on the microphone and run past the security guards through the exit door in the back. But, hoping that I could find a place to be left alone in order to shed my watery tears, I hear running footsteps and protests to come back to the court room only a few feet behind me. For some reason, it is then that I decide to let go of the tears from my eyes. They flow out like a river, and I can hear the nearly silent _SPLISH _and _SPLASH_ sounds of them dripping on the floor.

* * *

**So, about the whole court thing... I was never really sure of how it all works and stuff. I just watched Tunes & Trials again to try and understand some of the terms used. :P If there's something about court terms or something else I messed up on, let me know! :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN Austin & Ally.**

* * *

_**Austin**_

I strum the strings of my guitar, creating a thread of soft, but powerful music notes. Giving Ally one more assuring look of confidence, I wait for her angelic voice to be heard among the people of the room.

She faces the people and sings, "When you're on your own," That first lyric puts a smile on my face. "Drowning alone…"

Ally then stops. But, I don't.

Continuing to play the melody corresponding with those specific lyrics, I wait for if Ally can pick herself up again. But, she doesn't.

Releasing the grip from her microphone, she runs out of the room, and into the halls of the court-house. For a second, I'm stunned by her action. But, I quickly snap out of the trance, and ask the judge for a recess before rushing out of the court room myself.

As I run through the halls of the court-house, I shout out words to my friend, "Ally! Stop running! Please!" Nothing makes her stop her fast pace, or even make her turn her head around to just take a quick glance at me. The last word takes my breath away, and with the guitar and its strap still hanging from my shoulder, I stop despite having super speed. But hey, running isn't that easy while having a guitar along. I take a breather for a minute. I think to myself if Ally was ever on the school's track team, because she is actually a really fast runner. That's not the point though.

After that resting minute, I just walk outside. I see Ally sitting on the white steps of the outdoor staircase. She's curled up in her sitting position – hands and arms laying on her knees, and her chin resting on them. Ally sniffles, indirectly letting me know that it has recently rained down melancholy tears in _Ally Land_.

Not saying a word, I take a seat on the steps beside her. The brunette doesn't say anything either, but I sense her suddenly tense up at my presence. In the corner of my eye, I catch the sight of a tear slipping away from her eye and down her rosy pink cheek; gravity pulling it to the ground faster by the second. For a while, I look away from my best friend and instead stare off into space. Thinking. Thinking about what went wrong. Thinking about how it went wrong. Thinking about why it went wrong. Thinking about Ally and what, how, and why anything could just possibly go wrong for her.

"I really thought I could do it." A voice snaps me out of my deep thoughts, bringing me back into what currently seems to be the harsh realities of life.

I turn my head sideways to look at Ally. Her eyes are puffy and red from her cries, but I don't soothe her tears. I let her expose those caged and imprisoned feelings and fears out into the open air, knowing that she has to let everything out.

"You _can_ do it," I finally say to her. "But for now," I attempt to cheer her up with a cheesy song reference. "If you want to cry, I'll be your shoulder."

That does it for her. She turns her head in my direction and looks at me with sad eyes. Tears well out of her eyes in a smooth flowing stream. Bursting in sobs, I put my arm around her and the brunette lays her head on my shoulder.

She lets out soft sobs and sniffles. Normally, a girl would think that she looks horrific or plain ugly when they cry. At least, that's what I think they think. But, in my eyes – Ally may not think so – Ally still has that angelic beauty; even when she's in tears. Kind of weird for me to say, but it's true.

A few minutes pass by; the waterfall of tears coming to a gradual stop. Wiping her cheeks dry, she lifts up her head and says, "Thanks, Austin."

I'm about to stupidly ask what for, but it suddenly hits me that it's for comforting her and stuff. "No problem." Realizing my arm is still around her, I give Ally some space.

Another few minutes pass us by and silence settles in the air. Ally's eyes recover from the redness and the white in her eyes start to return. Her breathing calms to a normal and steady pace. I think of some kind of wise advice about conquering her fear and all that. Now, I have never had stage fright myself, but I do know a thing or two about facing fear. For one, it evidently is not easy. But, that doesn't mean it's _Mission Impossible_. I think about facing my fear of umbrellas in order to defeat the giant lobster. When I forced myself to pick up the umbrella, this surge of energizing electricity flowed through my body. It made me feel invincible. Like, nothing would be able to stop me from doing what I wanted. Nothing was in my way. All I had to do wan not look down. Well, not literally…

Expressing my thoughts, I tell my friend, "Look, Ally," That grabs her full attention and our eyes meet each other. "You remember when I used to be afraid of umbrellas?"

The brunette nods.

"Well, basically, when I had to face my fear," I think for a quick second about a past song Ally and I have written: _Don't Look Down._ "I kind of told myself to push ahead and don't look down."

I let her process my words for a couple of seconds. Then, she nods her head again. "You know what, Austin?" Raising my eyebrows curiously, Ally continues, "I think I can do this." She smiles in a more confident way.

"Really?" I copy her action.

"Yeah," She stands up. In a far more courageous tone, she says, "Let's do this."

Also standing up from my sitting position, I add-on, "Let's go."

As we walk back into the court-house and court room, I can already sense a new Ally peeking out of her eggshell; eagerly ready to escape the prison of fears.

* * *

Back up in front of the crowd in the court room, I can sense that Ally won't fail this time. I know she can do it this time. So, _Round 2 _of You Can Come to Me.

Same as last time, I put my fingers on the right frets and use my pick to strum the six different strings.

Ally starts off strong. "When you're on your own, drowning alone and you need a rope that can pull you in, someone will throw it."

I pick up the next couple of lyrics. "And when you're afraid that you're gonna break, and you need a way to feel strong again, someone will know it." By accident, I sing 'shomeone' instead of 'someone', but luckily, no one is able to notice. I think.

Finally, Ally and I continue together. "And even when it hurts the most, try to have a little hope that someone's gonna be there when you don't. When you don't."

The rest of the song comes naturally, and I can feel the power of music bouncing off of me and Ally and onto the audience members, boosting everyone's moods – except for Trent's and Val's. Their expressions remain unchanged and stoic throughout the song. People eventually start to clap to the rhythm of the singing, which is unintended, but it makes Ally and me happy, and Trent and Val heated.

The basic message of the song can be easily analyzed, particularly based on this specific one: _If you want a friend, doesn't matter when. Anything you need, that's what I'll be. You can come to me. _It pretty much explains the whole point of the song, and further more – the kind of friendship Ally and I share. I could never even see how the two of us can be separated for a long period of time. I mean, we're Austin & Ally, right? Nothing stops us.

As we near the end of the song, my partner and I reach the lyric, "Anything you need, that's what I'll be." Simultaneously, the brunette and I face each other – away from the audience – and sing, "You can come to me." Once again, her brown eyes and my hazel ones meet and we share a longing look with each other. I can feel the connection between us. A special connection. It's almost as if there are only two of us in the room – just me and Ally. No one else present.

Lastly, before I strum the last chord, I leave last few words to Ally. "You can come to me. Yeah…" I finally pluck the last musical note of the song. There's two seconds of silence in the room before a roar of applause interrupts it. It snaps me and Ally out of our eye staring trance and turns our attention to the crowd.

A standing ovation is shown to us, and we bow, though we don't return to our table with Trish and Dez just yet. Ally and me move to the witness stand, and like magic, one of the microphones and its stand disappears along with it. The other remains still in its spot and it's obvious why it's still there.

For Steal Your Heart.

But, for the time being, Ally and I have to finish clearing up the accusation of stealing You Can Come to Me. A few voices are talking in the crowd, and the judge hits his gavel on the wood again, calling order to the court.

Trish stands from her seat and announces, "Well, there's your proof, sir."

"What proof?" Val questions. "That they're great singers?"

"Yes, but no," Trish says. "By Austin's and Ally's performance, we can clearly see from the message of the song that they really did write the song about their friendship."

Ally speaks up, "Exactly. My friendship is the clear inspiration for You Can Come to Me." She glances to me and smiles, making me do the same.

"Also," Trish adds on. "You can just see from the way they look at each other how much they care even." Her point makes me blush, since it is true, and I nearly catch a hint of red on Ally's cheeks too. Luckily, our friend doesn't go even deeper as for analyzing the song.

Trent then says, "Well, what about Steal Your Heart? I never said that I didn't _write _about anyone."

Without another thought, I shout, "I object!"

Murmurs are heard among the jury. "Order!" the judge commands.

Though, the first part of the case never really concluded itself, we've somehow moved onto the other song, Steal Your Heart. Ally and I automatically return to our seats with our friends. I then say, "Your honor, _I_ wrote Steal Your Heart." But, I also partially lie, "It may not be about anyone, but I still wrote it." I'm determined to end this case soon, and there's no way I'm letting Trent and Val win it.

"Okay, prove you wrote the song then!" Trent gestures to me. "Do you want to know who I wrote the song about?" My mind says, 'Who?' He holds no hesitation and tells everyone, "I wrote the song about _Trish_."

More gasps are shared from the people of the crowd along with the small mutters and whispers. I see the Latina get suddenly uncomfortable and a bit disgusted with the situation. She asks, "Me? Why me?"

As sincerely as he could, Trent tries to pull off sympathetic eyes. I can just tell that there's no falling for them though. His looks are somewhat convincing, but overall, it's all fake. Trish could easily see through him. "Because… I care about you." Trish's expression doesn't change though. "I mean, you're cute, you're funny, and you're tough. I can totally see us together." My friend only rolls her eyes. That's a fail attempt at getting a girl.

My temper starts to get the best of me. "Hey Trent, if you really do like Trish so much, why don't _you_ prove it?" I'm pushing his buttons, trying to let his temper get to him.

"Well, maybe I will!" He nearly yells this out in the room, and surprisingly, the judge doesn't call order. The judge sits there watching our verbal fight with much interest. That guy must love gossip and drama talk.

To everyone but me, Trent voices out, "I challenge Austin Moon to a sing and dance off to Steal Your Heart!"

The crowd goes, "Ooh…" And, I feel the air in the room get really tense and unbreakable. I remember the one this happened in the real world, and it was only just dancing, but now singing is included, the status quo just got upgraded to a whole new level.

I sigh and exchange quick glimpses with my three friends, before sealing the deal with Trent. "Alright, let's do this."

The judge says, "Ooh, this is going to be good!" He pounds his gavel on the wood once again. And, I can only admit that he is right.

This is going to be good.


End file.
